


Not All Bad

by Montesama314



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Family, Frenemies, Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-25
Updated: 2018-08-24
Packaged: 2018-12-19 15:30:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 20,575
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11900670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Montesama314/pseuds/Montesama314
Summary: While on a desperate mission in the Ghost Zone, Danny's chance encounter with Ember brings unexpected change. A twist on the Phantom family concept, set before "Phantom Planet." Now with PART VI.





	1. Part I

**Author's Note:**

> Author’s Note: _Thought or Emphasis_.
> 
> I don’t own _Danny Phantom_.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A desperate journey leads to unexpected change.

 

**Danny Phantom: Not All Bad**

Part I

“Gotta move!”

In the endless expanse of the parallel dimension known as the Ghost Zone, the protector of Amity Park left a black and white streak across a green ectoplasmic sky. Danny Phantom, in his usual hazmat suit, white hair and glowing green eyes, was on an urgent mission.

He gripped at his collar, something hanging off his back. With the Specter Speeder out of commission—his father had been working on it, enough said—he had to hold the cargo by hand, and take the risk that the source of his worries wouldn’t fall off.

The goal was a bit distant, but the journey was a straight line from here.

“Just hold on. We’re almost there.”

However, the trip wouldn’t be so simple.

A laugh echoed through the Zone, to Danny’s annoyance.

“Not now!”

In a burst of spiraling flame, an old enemy appeared.

A teenage girl with white glowing skin floated before him, seemingly dressed like a rock star from the 1970s. A black one-shouldered tank top, the strap on her left, revealed her toned midriff.  A long glove covered her right arm and hand, only a bracelet on her left wrist. A pair of tight black leather pants, with a gray belt hanging off the waist, showed off the legs that trailed down to skull-faced platform boots.

Eye shadow with lines trailing over her cheeks accentuated the green in her eyes, filed with mischief as opposed to her would-be opponent’s anger. Purple lipstick painted her lips and piercings hung in her right ear, further accentuating the rocker look.

Her most striking feature, however, was her robin’s egg blue hair, a ponytail and bangs made entirely of ghostly fire.

“This isn’t the time, Ember!”

“Anytime’s a good time for a Babypop beatdown!” She summoned her guitar, purple with blue flame decals. “I got a new single that’ll rock your—”

A blast of ghost ice flew past her face, taking her left bang with it.

“HEY! What’s your deal, Dipstick!?” She grew the hair back. “Whatever happened to a little pre-fight smack talk?”

“No time, not for that or your games.” A snowball charged with a ghost ray inside glowed in warning. “I’ve got someone way more important to meet today than you.”

Now she joined him in anger. “Who the heck’s more important than the hottest singer in the Ghost Zone?” She puffed up her already ample chest.

“For one thing, how about my precious cargo?” He pointed to his back.

“What cargo?” She finally took notice. “You mean that ice cape?” She scoffed. “I know you’re supposed to be some goody two-shoes hero, but isn’t that a little much?”

“My wha…?” He felt over his shoulders, touching two ice-covered arms acting as a collar for the ‘cape’ Ember saw at a distance. “NO!” Danny’s face blanched. “She’s almost frozen solid!”

“She?”

“Ember, get over here! I need you!”

“Uhh…” A part of her not utterly confused at the turn of events was quite flattered. “I mean, yeah, of course you would. It was only a matter of time before you fell for the flame-”  
  
“Your flame is exactly what Danielle needs!”  
  
“Who’s Danielle?” _What’s he trying to drag me into?_ She didn’t like what he was implying. _Who does he think I am, Spectra?_

“Ugh! I don’t have time for this!” He was desperate, and turned his back to her. “Shoot me!”  
  
“Huh?” He was only making it weirder. “First, you’re trying to flirt, and now you want to-”  
  
“JUST SHUT UP AND FIRE!”

“Fine, Phantom! Just remember,” her hair formed a fireball at its tip, “you asked for it!”

Ember’s aim was true, striking him right in the ‘cape.’ The ghostly ice melted into a startling sight.

“A ghost kid?”

The ‘ghost kid’ in question resembled the young man she had latched onto during the trip, with the same green eyes and white hair tied into a ponytail. She wore a black and white long-sleeved shirt showing her midriff, baggy pants of the same colors, and white boots.

“Her name’s Danielle, and if I don’t get her to the Far Frozen, she’s gonna end up even worse than this!”

Danielle had come back into Danny’s life barely conscious, phasing through the wall and collapsing on his bed, a sheen of frost where she landed. Traveling the world after her stabilization, she had no idea that the cryokinetic power that once blossomed in Danny’s body had also begun to grow in hers, but at an even faster rate. Danny understood the symptoms, saw her pain, and rushed through the Fenton Portal without a word.

Ember saw the young one shiver, sending a matching one down her own spine.

“Just tell me what I need to do.”  
  
Now it was his turn to be surprised. “You’re helping me?”  
  
“I’m helping your little girl.” She floated closer, putting her guitar on her back. “What do you need?”  
  
“Just keep her warm until I get there.” As Ember advanced, channeling the power of her fire core, Danny asked, “Why?”

“In case you didn’t know, we don’t get a lot of ghost children in the Ghost Zone. The little pirate kid, er, what’s his name…"

“Youngblood,” Danny reminded her, the group continuing his journey. “And I think he’s going through a cowboy phase now…”

“Whatever. Point is, his kind’s actually rare around here.” She drew on the rumors given around the Zone. “How I hear it, most kids aren’t born ghosts; instead, they just move on to the Big Guy Upstairs since they’ve got nothing keeping them around when they die. So when they do stick around, they’re kind of a big deal.” 

“How big a deal?”

“Ghost Zone unspoken rules, big.” Ember watched the blue in Danielle’s skin start to fade. “You don’t mess with a ghost on her deathday, you don’t mess with _anyone_ on Christmas, and you never, _ever_ , go after ghost children… well, unless they shoot first.”

“Wow.” Danny blinked, before it came to him. “Wait, why wasn’t I under this rule? Skulker calls me ‘Ghost Child’ and tries to waste me once a month!” 

“One, you’re a teen. You don’t count any more than I do, and I’m pretty young by ghost standards.” Before Danny could wonder about her age, she went on. “Two, Skulker’s sick in that trash can head of his.”  
  
“Says the one who dated him…”

“And dropped him like the crapsack he is, ’cause he wouldn’t drop that stupid obsession over you!”

Were he not flying, he might have stumbled from the surprise.

“You dumped him… over me?”

“Yes!” Her pale cheeks turned blue. “Wait, I mean, no!” She rushed through her explanation. “We kinda clicked over the ‘cut you up and scatter your pieces all over both worlds’ thing, and it turns out he’s a fan of my music, so it took off from there. But over time it was less about me or us, and more about you. Specifically, your pelt, hanging on his wall.”  
  
“Eww.”  
  
“I know, right?” She shook her head in disgust. “Anyway, I had enough of that and told him to beat it, or I’d turn that suit to slag. Took a little work,” she recalled Skulker had a mean left hook, “but he got the hint.”

“So what I’m getting here is,” Danny hoped, “you _don’t_ want to waste me?”

“Well… maybe I don’t want to scatter your bits just yet.” She smirked. “I’ll admit, my afterlife wasn’t nearly as fun until you became my new punching bag.”  
  
“ _Your_ punching bag?” He glanced back, his eyes taunting. “Need I remind you who sent who home in a Fenton Thermos two weeks ago?" 

“Pfft, whatever.” She turned her focus to the girl who began to stir. “Hey, your kid’s waking up!”  
  
Soon enough, Danielle’s eyes opened. “D-Da…” She caught herself. “Danny."  
  
“Dani! Oh, thank goodness.” He held one of the girl’s hands tight, to let her know. “I’m right here. Everything’s gonna be okay.”

She weakly mumbled, “I don’t wanna go away again.”

His heart ached.

Ember looked away, sensing this moment was between the two of them. Still, she recognized the face of loneliness on the child. She had seen it on Klemper...

…and in another life, herself.

“I’m not letting you out of my sight!” He was resolute. A part of him had always worried about Dani since she first left Amity Park, and with this… “We’ll talk about it when you’re all better, okay?”

“Okay.”

Dani’s eyes blearily met those of her current source of warmth, the latter’s hand hovering over her as they moved. She didn’t know this ghost’s face, but Danny’s kind words and apparent trust in her to help with this unending inner cold were enough to halt any fears.

As she returned to a now more peaceful sleep, she gave a tiny smile.

Ember couldn’t help but smile back.

It was a long few minutes before either of them spoke again, but Danny went first. “Thank you for this, by the way.”

She turned her attention to him, looking down at the child the whole time. “Well, I’m not _all_ bad, Phantom. I might hate adults, but I’m okay with kids. Besides,” she carefully tucked a bit of white hair behind Dani’s ear, “I’m not gonna separate a ghost kid from her dad.”

“I never said she was my daughter.”  
  
“Never said she wasn’t either.”

“She’s my… uh…”

He had been thinking about it since he saw her melt into ectoplasm. She called him her ‘cousin,’ but…

“…Let’s just say it’s a long story.”

“Guess you can tell it later. Judging by my hair,” which had almost gone solid from the temperature shift, “I’m guessing we’re at this Frozen place.”

“So we are!” Danny proclaimed. Indeed, the arctic island floated before Ember and the Phantoms. “I think I can take it from here, if you can’t handle it.”

“Can’t handle it? Puh-lease.” Ember stayed proud, blatantly shivering. Cold from a single ghost was one thing; cold from everywhere was another. “I’m the f-f-femme fatale of flame, D-d-Dipstick. This is n-n-nothing!”

He smirked. “The ghosts here have jackets for others, you know.”

“Good…” She stifled her sigh of relief. “Uh, not that I need it!” She flared out more power in resistance.

“Of course you don’t.”

“But if they had one, I’d take it, since I’m sticking around.” She tried to sound noncommittal. “You know, so your brat can thank me in person!”

He chuckled. “Good to know.”

With that, they entered the Realm of the Far Frozen, led by Frostbite. Ember had been a resident of the Ghost Zone for a few decades, but meeting a talking yeti was still something new. Even newer was discovering that the ghost boy she tried to barbecue over a half hour ago was known as “Great One” here.

As it turned out, the Far Frozen really did have jackets, which the teen ghosts wore while in a room awaiting Danielle’s diagnosis. Danny was unafraid, knowing she was in good hands.

“I really do mean it, Ember.” Now at ease, he smiled fully. “Thank you. I owe you big time.”

It was weird getting praise from him, but praise gave her power, and it didn’t hurt to ‘win’ something from him for once. “Don’t mention it.”

He kept up that grin. “You can be humble when you want to be, huh?”

“No, I’m being serious.” She met it with a pointed glare. “Don’t mention it. The girls would kill me if they found out.”

He chuckled once more. “It’ll be our secret.”

“Rockin’. Now, since we’ve got the time,” she took a seat made of ice (like all other furniture in the realm), “why don’t you tell me more about your little girl?”

No doubt, Kitty and Spectra would ask what she did today, and she’d have to make up a good story about a close fight or something. She got enough teasing from the two without them knowing she wanted to meet her arch-enemy’s daughter.

_I mean, sure, I’ve fought him more often lately, but it doesn’t mean anything!_

_Still,_ Ember thought as Danny began his story of the meeting of two kindred spirits, _Dipstick does almost look cute when he smiles._

_Almost._

 

**END**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> mber was one of those characters back in the first days of the show that engendered a bit of mystery, as well as sympathy due to her pre-death origins. She was conceited, manipulative, and had only one catchy song to her name... but I liked her anyway.
> 
> Another character, one I didn't expect to like? Danielle. I was like Butch Hartman pulled her right out of a fanfiction, but it worked out anyway (the limited appearances may have oddly worked in her favor). Plenty of fans wondered just what kind of relationship she would have in the future with the Fenton family, especially Danny, whether as cousins, as siblings, or even a father-daughter bond (what with him being a genetic "parent" and all).
> 
> Reading an old Danny Phantom fanfiction last week (decent plot, but horrible grammar) and having a separate undeveloped DP story premise of my own, I had an idea of how to start what may be an unexpected bond between these two ghost girls. I thought that if Ember wanted to even lay a hand on Danielle, she'd have to get to Danny first--so the story ended up being about the usual enemies of fire and ice.


	2. Part II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danny and Danielle reunite in earnest. Dani makes a new friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: _Thought or Emphasis_.
> 
> I don't own _Danny Phantom_.

**Danny Phantom: Not All Bad**

Part II

Danielle Phantom awoke to the sound of beeping.

Her mind was hazy, the last thing she clearly remembered being the sign welcoming her to Amity Park.

She felt like she was floating, or swimming.

She opened her eyes and found out she was right.

“AAAAHHHH!”

Her scream came filtered through a face mask, helped her breathe in the vat of healing liquid wherein she was suspended. Outside the vat were bear-like monsters walking about in what appeared to be a laboratory. She pressed against the glass, too weak to blast herself out.

“Where am I?” She looked about, finding herself in a pure white shirt and shorts protecting her modesty. “And where are my clothes?”

“Welcome back to the world, Young One!”

Still addled by fear, it took her a moment to realize that the big bear thing with the fanged smile on his face was talking to her. A look at him, and the blue cape over his back, gave her the impression he was someone important.

“Who and what are you?”

“I am Frostbite, a yeti ghost.” He took no offense to her words; others had asked the question before. “You are in a de-icing chamber, within a medical facility in the Realm of the Far Frozen.”

“Far… Frozen?”

“I suspected you would not know of it. True to this realm’s name, we are in a secluded region of the Ghost Zone.”

“I’M IN THE GHOST ZONE!?” The beeping she heard earlier spiked faster. “How the heck am I in the Ghost Zone?” She banged on the glass. “Get me out of here!”

“There is no need to be upset, Young One.” He put an arm made of ice and bone to his chest, knowing his solemn vow. “We of the Far Frozen are honor-bound to aid those closest to the Great One.”

She stopped her banging, the question obvious. “Who’s the Great One?”

“He means me.”

She looked beyond the bear ghost to the young man entering the room, a young woman with hair made of flames right behind.

The beat of her core spiked again, but in joy. “DANNY!”

“Hey, Dani.” Her ‘cousin’ greeted her, floating up to the glass. “What do you say we get you out of there?”

* * *

“Ice powers!”

Danielle sat upright in a hospital bed, Frostbite having explained the reason for her cold affliction. The thought of getting a new power

“Yep. Just like me.” Danny formed a snowball in his hands, then an ice pyramid. “We can help you get a handle on that in a little while.”

“Cool!” She could hardly wait. “But what’s she got to do with this?” She pointed to the rocker ghost leaning against the wall (a bit uncomfortable, since it was as cold as everything else here).

“That’s Ember.” Danny replied as she walked to the bed. “She helped keep you warm enough to make it to Frostbite.”

“And here I thought we started off friendly on the way here.” She shrugged. “How ya feelin’, ice pop?”

 _Ice pop, huh?_ She smirked back. “I’m just fine, flame brain!”

“Ooh, Babypop’s brat’s got some sass!” She grinned. “But shouldn’t you be thanking me for saving your frozen butt?”

“I guess I should.” Her spirited smirk became an honest smile. “Thank you for helping me, Ember. How do you know Danny?”

“I kick his butt all over Amity Park.”

“You’re a bad guy!”

“Bad _girl_.” She corrected. “I hear you used to be too?”

“Yeah...” Dani’s mood darkened, “…used to. Wait, how do you know?”

“Your dad’s a blabbermouth.”

“You’re the one who asked me.”

“Dad?”

“Well,” she began to reason, “you two are kinda like-”

“Ember?” She turned her head Danny’s way. “Could you give us some privacy?”

She would have gone on, but his stare convinced her that it was a bigger issue than she realized. “Uh, sure.” She stood in the doorway. “But don’t be too long, Babypop. I’m freezing my frets off in here!”

“Didn’t you say you could handle it?”

“I _can_ handle it.” she muttered as she left the room. “Doesn’t mean I gotta like it.”

The door closed, leaving the Phantoms alone.

The younger spoke first. “What’s going on?”

“Danielle,” the elder’s voice lowered with gravitas. “While we were on our way here, before you went back to sleep, you told me something. Do you remember what it was?”

“What are you-” The words flashed through her mind; green eyes widened. “Oh.”

“So, you do remember.”

“Just forget whatever I said!” Her ponytail swished with her shaking head. “I was just… er, loopy from the cold!”

“You really are like me.” He chortled sadly. “I always was a bad liar.”

“Danny-”

“After what we’ve both been through together, the least you can do is be honest with me.”

“What’s to lie about? I didn’t say anything important! They were just stupid words!” Her eyes clenched shut, unwilling to meet his concerned gaze. “I’m stable and I’m not cold anymore, so I’m fine, okay?”

A new sight alarmed him and he tried to reach out. “DANIELLE!”

“I’M FINE!”

The sound of cracking ice filled the air, then silence.

She heard him speak with strain. “Open your eyes, Dani.”

She obeyed him, seeing the spikes of ice that surrounded her bed. She looked down to her body, glowing with a cold blue aura.

“What?”

Her ice core skipped a beat at the sight of ectoplasm staining a spike. The source: Danny’s outstretched, and pierced, right arm.

“Oh no!” At her sadness, the ice began to crumble. “Danny, I didn’t mean to do that, I swear! I’m just new to this, and-”

“It’s okay.” Danny ignored the pain, using his other arm to blast the remaining obstacles. “But you’re not, are you?”

“I thought I was, but...” Her eyes fell to the bed. “No.”

“Then tell me what’s wrong.”

“Okay.” She took a breath. “Seeing the world was fun. I could do what I wanted, when I wanted. No more living in the basement, no Vlad hanging over my shoulder… staring at me…” She shivered, and not from the cold air. “…wanting to dissect me…”

“Vlad’s not here, Dani.” He put a hand on hers. “And he won’t find you here.”

“I know. I just…” She shook those red eyes out of her head. “Anyway, I saw all kinds of stuff when I was flying around, buildings, people, animals! I even helped people, just like you!” She couldn’t help but smile a bit. “But while it was cool to see the world, I realized something:

“I wasn’t really a part of it.

“None of it was mine. When I was done, I’d just go on to the next town. I didn’t have real friends, or a home, or…”

Her eyes darted to him, then away.

“…Or a family.”

“Dani,” he started to console her, but she went on.

“So I thought, maybe if I came back to see you, I could make heads and tails of it, pick myself up. Or maybe just visit my cuz, ya know?” She tried a happy laugh, but it fell flat. “And it’d only be a day, maybe two!” Her voice softened, “Then I wouldn’t get in your way. But then...” she gestured to the room, “ _this_ happened.”

“Get in my way?” Danny couldn’t believe it. “Why would you ever think that?”

“Because I always have!” Her eyes glowed in anger. “I turned on you, so Vlad could take your DNA! I got Valerie to come after you, and then you had to go through them both just to save me! I thank you for the help, but I don’t think I’ve done anything except hurt you!”

A tear fell.

“I’m starting to wonder if I was _made_ to hurt you.”

Danny was stunned. He had no idea that the little girl who fought for her freedom and flew off with a smile had harbored this kind of pain. After the accident that gave him his powers, he understood what it was like to not know what he was, but he’d never faced something like this. He wondered if he was a freak, but never the source of someone’s suffering.

 _She_ was the one who suffered in those misadventures, not him. In the brief time he knew Danielle, he knew he’d take a million torture sessions with the Red Huntress before ever making her feel this way.

He had to make her see that.

“I know you treated Vlad like he was your father. And I know you were desperate when you told Valerie about me,” he admitted. “But ask yourself this: Did you stay with Vlad?”

“No. He was a dirty liar, and I kicked his butt!” She nodded, vindicated.

“Sure did, with everything you had, and you were awesome!” He ruffled her hair, hearing her giggle. “And did you _tell_ Valerie to go after me?”

“No, I’d never do that!”

“Exactly. She was after me months before she ever met you. And _because_ she met you, I think she’s finally coming around.” The ghost and ghost hunter had indeed crossed paths afterward, but Valerie hadn’t pointed a weapon Danny’s way since.

“Really?”

“Really. Vlad may have made you, but he made you from my flesh and blood.” He grinned. “And ectoplasm, probably!”

He continued. “You’re not some weapon made to hurt me, and you’re not a burden. You’re my family, whether that makes you my cousin or something else entirely, and I’m here for you. Isn’t that why you came to me?”

“Yeah.” She realized, “I knew you’d be there for me, because you’ve _always_ been there for me. Even when I was getting cold, I just knew that if I got to you, I’d be okay.”

She defied her weakness and launched into his arms.

“Thank you, Danny.”

“You’re welcome, Dani.”

He held her for a minute, but as he began to back away, she resisted. He felt cold tears reach his shoulder.

“I don’t want to leave this time!” She finally admitted it to herself. “I’m sorry, but I really don’t wanna go!” She clutched him tighter. “I just want… this!”

“Don’t you dare feel sorry.”

He swore it to her and himself:

“You want a home? You’re getting a home.”

She backed away, startled at his resolve. His gloved right hand wiped away her tears.

“Remember my friends, Tucker and Sam?” Hearing her ‘mm-hmm,’ he explained. “Well, my big sister Jazz knows my secret too. They’ll all help us!” He gulped. “And if it comes down to it, we may have to tell my mom and dad the truth.”

“But they’re ghost hunters!” They were tough on his human self as well, as far as she could tell; they were going to ground him for a century and worse for running off in the Specter Speeder if she hadn’t overshadowed his mom and teacher.

“They’re also my parents. I’ve been thinking about telling them for a while. And if not, maybe knowing Danny Phantom has someone to take care of will give them a reason not to shoot first and ask questions later.” His hand landed back on her shoulder. “We’ll talk about it when we get home, okay?”

“Home…”

Danielle would always cherish her first taste of freedom, soaring through skies the land below ready for her to explore.

But here, in a quiet corner of another dimension, the joy in knowing that she would soon have a home outshined that feeling by a factor of millions.

She nodded, the tears flowing all over again. “Okay!”

“Hey, Danny!”

“Huh?”

Both turned their heads at Ember’s voice, the same look on their faces. They were more alike than they realized.

Even Ember had to admit: _Okay, that’s kinda cute._

She shook it off and continued. “You got me standing out here for, like, 10 minutes. You done with your hugfest? I got your kid’s clothes from the wash.” She mumbled to herself, remembering how the yeti treated her as he handed them over. “Servant to the Great One my butt…”

“Yeah, I think so.” He set the clothes on the nearby table.

“Hey, Ember,” Danielle asked, “Why do you call him my dad?”

“Because he is. You’re his flesh and blood. He takes care of you. Sounds like a dad to me.”

Danny pointed out, “I also think she’s messing with me.”

Ember winked. “Maybe a little.”

“So, what’s that make you?” Danielle asked. “You keep hanging around him, and you sure don’t act like an enemy.” She grinned mischievously. “You wanna be my mom or something?”

“Danielle!” Danny’s face exploded in red.

“You got me dead wrong, kid!” Ember’s face colored blue, the perfect contrast to his. “Dipstick’s just my ticket outta here!”

“Dipstick?” She squinted suspiciously. “But you just called him Danny.”

“Well, excuse me for being nice!” She folded her arms in protest. “I’m not _all_ bad, kid.”

“I know!” She giggled. “That’s why I thanked you for helping me…” she couldn't help it, “… and my _dad_ with this.”

“Uhh, Dani…” He wasn’t sure how to feel about that word. _Goodness knows how the gang’s gonna take it back home if she starts saying it around them…_

“I’m just playing!” She was… mostly. “I know we’re still gonna work things out, Danny.” Danielle assured. “And I don’t care whatever we call it. We’re family, right?”

“You know it.”

Ember watched their bond strengthen. She could tell from a glance the kid was lonely, and a part of her was happy to see someone else heal that hole inside.

_It must be nice to have someone backstage, cheering you on, letting you know you’re not alone._

Ember composed herself. “This is touching and all, but when exactly are we gonna leave?”

“We can head out once Danielle’s dressed.”

“Sweet. I’ll be outside… you know, _again_.”

“Before you go, Ember,” Danny proposed, “I was thinking about having a practice session tomorrow to help Danielle with her new power. Matching up against your firepower would be a great way to show her how it works.”

“Well…”

He attacked her weakness. “And who else but my old, powerful enemy—the hottest singer in the Ghost Zone—to give the Phantoms a good fight?”

“Alright, Phantom, no need to get on your knees!” Her ego successfully inflated, she gave in. “I’ll help you out.” She turned to the younger Phantom. “How about it, Danielle?”

“Just call me Dani.”

“Danny with an I, huh?” Ember laughed. “Figures.”

* * *

 

An hour later saw the ghosts stop their flight in a denser part of the Zone. In the distance floated a door displaying the design of a guitar surrounded by familiar blue flames.

“Looks like this is my stop.”

“See you tomorrow, Ember.” He put out his hand.

“Don’t act too nice to me, Dipstick.” She returned it for a handshake.

Her grip didn’t lessen, until a surge of heat forced him to let go. “Yowch!”

She grinned. “In 24 hours, I’m gonna barbecue your black-and-white butt. And who knows? If you’re not too burnt, maybe I’ll come at you the next day too! I still got a new track just waiting to blow you away!”

A blue aura over his hand to cool it. “Can’t wait.”

“And you’d better be ready too, Dani. I won’t hold back just because you’re a twerp!”

“I’ll be ready, I promise!” The missile that was once a child crashed into Ember for a hug, catching the rocker off guard. “Bye, Ember!”

“Uhh… yeah.” She gave an awkward pat on the back.

_This might take some getting used to._

Eventually released, Ember floated to her door, ultimately not regretting her choice to help a ghost child in need. Dani could be a fun little addition to her eternity, and she liked this… rivalry she and Danny now had, for lack of a better word.

“Hey, Ember!”

She turned back. “What?”

A snowball pelted her in the face.

“That’s for messing with Danny!”

He gave her a fist bump. “Nice shot!”

“Oh, you’re _so_ paying for that tomorrow, kid!”

_I stand corrected._

She melted the snow on her face, the Phantoms laughing as she closed the door behind her.

_This will definitely take some getting used to._

**END**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I said I might create another chapter, and I did. Just didn't feel right leaving this idea open.
> 
> In this chapter, I figured that a girl who was considered a mere disposable mistake in the eyes of her creator might have some self-esteem issues, especially considering how she contributed to the pain suffered by a person she'd come to care about. Danny can slightly relate, having been unsure of his abilities and even his identity at one point (see the episode "My Brother's Keeper"). Combine that with them being so alike (she's almost literally his "flesh and blood"), and it's no surprise he'd want to take her in as a kindred spirit.
> 
> Where does it go from here? I can't say, but Part III might have some guidance...


	3. Part III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ember and the Phantoms engage in a sparring session. Can Danielle get a handle on her new power?

Author’s Note: _Thought or Emphasis._

I don’t own _Danny Phantom._  

 **Danny Phantom: Not All Bad**  

Part III

“YEAH, THAT’S RIGHT, YOU BETTER RUN!”

A group of yeti ghosts scattered as the Phantoms and Ember stood in a snow-covered plain in the Realm of the Far Frozen. The three wore jackets to brace through the cold; Danny’s was red, and the currently furious Ember’s black jacket sported her personal flame decal.

Danielle’s black jacket, meanwhile, came courtesy of Danny’s friend Samantha Manson.

Danielle liked Sam. According to Danny, Sam was passionate, even pushy, about what she wanted, but she’d put any cause aside for a friend. True to his word, when Danny came to her doorstep with Danielle, telling Sam how she wanted and needed a home, the wealthy heiress had a guest bedroom in her mansion prepared within minutes and a month-long wardrobe of new clothes prepared within hours. She had even tucked Dani in personally, to make sure she went to sleep at a proper hour.

Danny’s jaw dropped—he hadn’t seen Sam act that motherly since the flour baby project.

As for Danielle, having a warm bed beat sleeping in Vlad’s stasis pod by a mile.

Now that she was out of the infirmary, she could walk around the icy realm for herself, meeting the yeti ghosts that made it home, including their leader Frostbite. Many of them had come to watch her and their hero today on seats of ice, as the plain doubled as a sports stadium.

The Far Frozen gave her many titles, from “Young One,” to “Little Great One,” to “Child of the Great One.” Danny told her she’d just have to get used to those.

Ember, on the other hand, would never get used to the titles they gave her. She was “the Great One’s Aide,” “Servant of the Great One,” and “the Great One’s Fire Maiden,” among others.

One unlucky ghost gushed that it was “an honor to meet the Great One’s consort.”

Ember asked the nearby Frostbite what a consort was, and he told her.

That poor ghost’s fur would never grow back the same way again.

“The nerve. Me and _him_!?” She grumbled, a puddle of melted ice at her feet growing as she seethed. “I oughta shove a flamin’ fist up that teddy bear’s snow white-”

“Language, Ember,” Danny tried not to laugh, “there are children present.”

“Don’t get smug, Phantom. I’m not afraid to knock you out in front your fan club,” she pointed to the laughing Danielle, “or in front of your kid!”

“Well, that’s good news, since we’re here for a spar.” He raised his hand, covered in wispy blue. “Let’s give Dani a quick demonstration of my ice power in battle.”

“I get to take a shot at you, and you thank me for it? _Again_?” Her anger disappeared, replaced with mischief. “I think I’m gonna like this new arrangement of ours.”

Danny called out to the realm’s leader. “Frostbite, set the timer for two minutes, please.”

“Of course, Great One.” The benevolent beast pulled out the timer from behind his sash. “I wish you luck.” Judging by the roars of the audience, they felt the same.

“Just remember not to _actually_ try to waste me, okay?” The hero joked.

“Come on, Babypop, you know that’s half the fun.” The villainess summoned her guitar, tuned for destruction. “Get on with it, snowman!"

“As you wish, Great One’s Aide.”

“Ugh, it’s ‘Ember,’ you-”

**Ding!**

Danielle blinked at the sound, and they were gone. Her eyes could barely follow the black and blue streaks crossing the field, crashing into each other with ice sword and guitar.

_When did he even make that?_

Danny was even more proficient than that, Danielle discovered. He would drop out of the sky to form ice slides, then pick up speed for a continued flight; toy with Ember by tossing snowballs; and create pillars to block her path and risk collision.

Ember faced his attacks with her own, melting his constructs with her hair or her touch; cracking the ice with sonic blasts; or weaving through obstacles as she surfed her guitar with blazing speed.

Neither seemed to be breaking a sweat.

Danielle could only gawk at it all. She knew Vlad was strong—she could feel it—but she never truly saw the power he held until that fateful day she was set free. This was even more special, because she was watching the half-ghost who _truly_ cared about her, wielding a unique power Vlad might never have.

_This must be what Danny’s normal fights look like._

As her eyes acclimated to them, she saw something different from those usual fights…

_…Are they smiling?_

They both landed on the ground, Danny keeping up the grin. “You know, when you’re not trying to destroy me, you’re actually a pretty good sparring partner!”

“I better be. I haven’t been slacking off these past two years.” She would never forget the time she almost ruled the world.

Neither would he, though he recalled it differently: “You mean these past two years I’ve been beating you?”  
  
“With help!” She never forgot that goth girl either, who broke the love spell on the Dipstick and helped in her defeat. “You don’t have your girlfriend to save you this time!”  
  
“Uh,” he blushed, “Sam’s not my-”

A purple ghost ray shot him off his feet, his sliding body digging up a pile of snow.

“Ow.”

**_Riiiing!_ **

“The match has concluded!” Frostbite announced, amidst the shocked screams and murmurs of his fellow Far Frozen. “The Great One… has lost!”

“Well, that’s that, Babypop. A long time coming.” With a smile, Ember blew her fingertip like a smoking gun. It may not have been a real fight, and she hadn’t conquered the Earth, but victory was hers, and it tasted sweet. “You up for an encore?”

“You bet he is!” Danielle bounced on her feet, ready for action. “You might have beaten Danny on his own, but wait till you get a double dose of Phantom fury!”

“Not so fast, Dani,” her elder corrected, rubbing his sore shoulder and shaking snow out of his hair. “You’ll be fighting her alone.”

She stopped and gulped. “You’re not fighting with me?”

“In the field, I’ll definitely be there.” He already told himself he wouldn’t leave her unsupervised, not yet. “But the only one using _your_ ice powers is you.”

“Alright, twerp…” Ember floated to face her. “Let’s see what you can do.” In a flash, she turned the guitar’s knob and slammed on the strings, belting out an energy fist.

Dani reflexively summoned a shield, which managed to resist the shot. “What was that?”

“Yeah, Ember,” a protective Danny folded his arms. “What _was_ that?”

“I’m teaching her how I learned to fight,” she explained. “Not every bad ghost out there’s gonna give some big speech or warn you before they shoot like I did. You gotta think fast and-”

“I already know how to fight.” Vlad at least taught her that much. “And you call that a warning?”

“Hey,” she smirked, “I’m no hero either, remember?” Another strum fired another energy fist, which Danielle destroyed with a green blast.

Time and again, they exchanged shots, but while Ember easily dished out her musical blows, none of Dani’s attacks dealt that icy impact she sought.

“Dang it!”

Frustrated, Dani surged in with a punch. Ember dodged it, deflecting a second and third. A bit bored, she merely stepped back from a rising kick.

The ghost girl smiled.

Ember failed to notice the collected ecto-energy on Dani’s foot before it was too late, and took a green ray to the gut.

“Check out my Phantom Flash Kick!” She soaked in the adoration of the crowd, crying out for her to ‘avenge the Great One.’

“AGH! You little-” Forgetting the setting, Ember shot back a surging purple ray from her palm, stronger than before.

“WOAH!” Dani ducked, almost certain she lost a little hair on top. “Hey, take it easy!”

“Uhh…” _Crap, too much!_ The musician masked her surprise and repeated, “I told you, I’m no hero. And besides,” an eyebrow rose, “you do know you’re supposed to be working on your ice power, right?”

“I’m trying! I thought I had it yesterday,” she frowned, “but now I’m only getting ghost rays.”

“You need to remember that feeling of cold,” Danny told her.

“But it’s cold everywhere!” She tried to concentrate, her hands only releasing a puff of chilling vapor.

“It doesn’t come from your hands, it comes from your core!”

“My core?”

“Indeed, Young One!” Frostbite repeated the advice he had given to another Phantom in need. “You must build up the cold within you, then let it out, as you have done before!”

“And think about it this way,” Ember warned, “if you don’t _build_ it up, you’re gonna get _blown_ up!”

Starting a guitar riff, she tapped into her own core, her ponytail forming a blazing ball above her head. She merely dodged the ghost rays that came her way. “You’ll need to do better than that if you wanna stop me.”

Danny agreed. _I know she can do better, but how?_

Ember’s teaching style was rough, but he knew from experience the school of hard knocks made him a fast learner.

_It’s risky, but… you’ll understand later, Dani._

He began to cheer.

“EMBER! EMBER! EMBER!”

The fire above her head surged. “Ooh!” The rush of power felt a bit different from him compared to when human crowds chanted her name. _Maybe it’s because he’s a halfa. Or maybe it’s been so long that it feels new. Either way…_ “Keep going, Babypop.”

Danielle cut into Danny’s call. “What’s going on?”

“I’m making Ember stronger."

“WHAT?” Confusion and the pain of betrayal mixed in her gaze. “Why? I thought you were supposed to help me?”

“Believe it or not, Dani, I am!”

He continued to goad Ember on, the fireball growing to resemble a tiny sun.

“You want a warning, kid?”

Ember’s power coalesced as she continued the riff; the guitar’s strings glowed with danger.

“Here it comes.”  
  
With a slam on the strings, she fired.

A torrent of sound and flame crashed into another of Dani’s ecto-shields. The snow around her melted from the impact alone.

“Come on…” Dani begged herself, but to no avail. The shield cracked as she fell to a knee from the strain. “No, it’s too much!”

“You gotta push!” Danny forced down his concern and spurred her on. “Find your core and let the power out!”  
  
“I… I don’t know if I can!” She mentally grasped for that inner power, but it seemed just out of reach. The heat from the attack was only another blow to her concentration.

Ember didn’t let up, only flying in closer. “I didn’t come out here to waste my time on a weakling, kid!” Still, she could see the girl’s effort. “If you’re half as good as your dad here, you can beat this!”

“She’s right, Danielle,” Danny assured. “We _both_ believe in you. You can win, and you can make the power your own! And you know why?”

She reached out one last time…

“Because you’re a Phantom!”

Her eyes opened, a cold blue glow.

The power was hers.

A wave of ice from her hands reinforced her shield, refusing to succumb to Ember’s attack. Soon, the wall was so thick, she could barely be seen.

“Yes!” Danny grinned. “You’re doing it!”

Dani only closed her eyes and grit her teeth as her power swelled within. The aura of cold intensified, covering her body and extending to the shield itself.

“Oh, no…” The elder Phantom had a feeling what would happen next. “EVERYBODY DUCK!”  
  
Ember, distracted by his cry, unwisely turned away.

“Duck for what?”

“HAH!” With a release, pure cold exploded from Danielle in all directions.

“Holy-” was Ember’s last word as she turned back…

…and was frozen solid.

* * *

 

“You g-got me g-g-good, t-twerp!” The siren specter shivered in the infirmary as she reached for her hot cocoa, courtesy of Danny. “Hey! D-d-don’t forget the m-marshmallows.”

“As you wish, my ‘servant.’” He winked, recalling the Far Frozen’s names for her.

“You’re _so_ l-l-lucky I’m not a hundred p-p-percent, Dipstick, or I’d b-b-blast you for that.” Her body was frigid, but her gaze still held its fire.

He met it with cool concern, watching her smother herself in the infirmary’s sheets even after a turn in the de-icing chamber. As close as she was to Danielle in the fight, she had taken the brunt of the young Phantom’s explosive awakening. “How are you feeling, though, Ember?”  
  
She gulped down the warm drink, which helped cure her stutter. “If I’m gonna be honest,” she snapped her fingers, getting only meager sparks, “I don’t think I could light a match right now.”

“Sorry.” Danielle sat on the opposite side of Ember’s bed in the infirmary, twiddling her fingers at her mistake. “I know I was supposed to let the cold out, but I guess I went overboard.”  
  
“No worries. You did what you were told to.” She looked over to the elder Phantom. “We can both blame him for this.”

“I’m sorry too, to both of you.” He scratched his head awkwardly. “I learned some of my skills during my hardest fights, and for you, Dani, I thought it might work the same way. I wanted to push you, and you pushed back—hard!”

“Well, I guess it’s okay, since I’ve got a grip on my ghost ice again.” She mumbled to herself, “I’m definitely making up a name for this…”

He looked to his sparring partner. “That’s also why I powered you up, Ember. Hope I didn’t make you burn out,” he cringed, “er, pun not intended.”  
  
“Meh, I’ll find a way to get back at you later.” She shrugged. “And hey, she beat me when you couldn’t!” She looked over to Danielle. “Maybe she ought to be taking _your_ hero spot, huh?”

The ghost girl failed to hide the rosy cheeks over her smile.

Ember gave a light grin, one of respect to the little heroine who strangely reminded her of herself. “You got yourself one tough kid.”

“Once again, she’s right.” Danny brought an arm over the ghost girl’s shoulders. “Good job, Danielle.”

Vlad may have said these four words during her first lessons, but Danielle knew now that he never meant them. Danny’s words, however, reached her ear and went straight to her heart, gentle and true.

“I’m proud of you.”

A happy tear escaped, to her own surprise—she had no had no idea how badly she wanted him to say that. She snuggled into his chest in gratitude. “Thanks, Danny.”

“You’re welcome, Dani.” 

Silence.

“Dani?”  
  
It wasn’t until he heard a soft snore that he realized she had fallen asleep in his arms.

“Guess the fight wore her out,” Ember observed.

“I’d better get her home.” He stood up and moved Danielle to his back, his young charge instinctively wrapping her arms over his shoulders. “I’m sure Frostbite can show you the way back, if you need time to recover.”

“Oh, no, Babypop. You’re not leaving me with these monsters!” Ember tossed off the sheets, her clothes already on. “I’m gettin’ outta here.” Hopping into her boots, she grabbed her jacket and strutted out the room’s door.

Frostbite met her in the hall. “Ah, you have recovered.

“Outta the way, fuzzball.” She shoved him to the side. “I know where the exit is.”

Gentle as ever, the yeti simply gave his farewell. “Then I wish you a pleasant journey home, Great One’s-”

She glared.

“…I mean, Ember.”

He added it to his mental checklist: _I really must find an appropriate title for her._

“You should just stick to ‘Ember,’ Frostbite,” he heard from behind, as if to answer his question.

“Great One! Your daughter has quite the potential!” He smiled at the sleeping child. “With the power she holds within, she may yet surpass us all.”

“Um, I don’t know if I’d call her my-” He caught her stir, and lowered his voice. “Let’s just say we’re taking this family thing a day at a time.”

“As should we handle _all_ changes in life, and in afterlife.”

They both looked to the fiery femme fatale at the exit, arms folded in wait.

“Wouldn’t you say, Danny Phantom?”  
  
The young woman who a few days ago would have turned him into charcoal didn’t take the chance when he was vulnerable, when a little girl needed his help the most. The whole sparring session, she could have done worse to him or Danielle—and she technically had permission—but she didn’t. She kept her word to not split the Phantoms apart forever, and Danielle came out stronger for it. Indeed, she was… _nice_ to Dani, and him, in her own way.

Maybe, like his life, Ember was changing too.

“Yeah, I would.”

“Hey, Dipstick!” She cried out. “Are you renting a room here, or something? Let’s go!”

With a chuckle, he realized, _Well, maybe she hasn’t changed that much overnight._ “I’m coming.”  
  
Danny Phantom adjusted the little girl on his back, and set a course for home, keeping those words in mind.

_One day at a time._

**END**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In Part III, I wanted to illustrate the change in the relationship between Danny and Ember more directly, from enemies to "rivals." Unfortunately for Ember, some of the Far Frozen see the relationship in a different way, one that could lead to more awkwardness and maybe even conflict in the two ghosts' futures.


	4. Part IV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam and Ember have a chat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Note: _Thought or Emphasis_ ; **Flashback** ; **_Thought or Emphasis in Flashback_**
> 
> I don’t own _Danny Phantom_.

**Danny Phantom: Not All Bad**

Part IV

The Manson manor was a sizable place, from the movie theater in the basement to the seemingly endless attic lived in by the elderly Ida. Most of its many rooms were professionally cleaned, yet sterile—essentially forgotten by the manor’s owners, Jeremy and Pamela Manson.

Still, while the size and emptiness made the manor seem loveless and cold, a person could find moments of warmth with those who lived within.

One of those lucky people was Danny Phantom, who recounted his and Danielle’s latest adventure to Sam. Technus had big plans for the Amity Science Expo, but his calculations hadn’t predicted the appearance of Danny Phantom’s newest partner. The team quickly defeated him with a double dose of ghostly ice, or as Dani affectionately called it, the Phantom Freeze.

“It’s getting late.” Danny Phantom stood up from his seat on Danielle’s bed, where she was currently tucked in. She wore black pajamas patterned with white ghosts— _If they only knew what real ghosts looked like_ , Danny internally remarked—and her black hair fell freely. “I’d better fly home before Mom starts making calls.” He turned to his ‘cousin.’ “And you’d better get to bed.”

“I could stay up for a week!” Danielle declared, failing to hide her subsequent yawn.

“Heh heh, sure, you can.” He grinned, ruffling her hair. “I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”  
  
“Okay." 

“I’ll see you too, Sam.” He floated over and embraced her. He didn’t see the fleeting smile of content on her face. “We’ll hang out, just the three of us.”

“That reminds me,” she noted, “you really should tell Tucker about this.”

He blinked, then palmed his face. Tucker had just begun a family trip for a few weeks when Danielle first arrived, but he had been back for almost a week and still wasn’t told. “Wow, how’d I forget that?”

“I can’t imagine how…” she smirked, “…Clueless.”

“Oh, come on, you too?” He really didn’t understand why people called him that.  
  
She did, but chose to shove him out. “Get going, hero!”

“I’m going, I’m going.” He floated up to the ceiling. “Good night, Dani.”

“Good night, Danny!”

With a soft chuckle at her joke, he phased through the ceiling, and was gone.

Both girls stared at their loved one’s departure, before Sam herself felt a yawn coming on.

“Guess I’m not the only one who’s sleepy.”  
  
“If you need me," Sam advised, “don’t be afraid to wake me up.”

“I know. You told me that,” another yawn, “the first night.”

“I know. I just worry anyway.”

“I’m fine…” The child murmured, sleep quickly taking its hold. “…thanks to you.”

Sam turned out the lights, taking one last look at the child in the light from the hallway.

Danny might have had a bond of blood with the ghost girl, but seeing Danielle at her doorstep stirred something up inside of Sam. Maybe it was because she was Danny’s cousin, or maybe it was hearing her story; she couldn’t be sure.

What she did know was this:

Out of all the causes that Sam stood for in her teenage life, Danielle’s care had quickly become cause number one.

“G’night, Sam.”  
  
She closed the door.

“Good night, Ellie.”

* * *

Sam finished her nightly routine, a final stretch releasing the worries of the day. Not that she had any, really—with her parents out on summer vacation, she and Dani largely had the place to themselves.

It helped that Grandma Ida was so welcoming. Ida already knew, of course, that someone new had entered the home.

* * *

**“Wait, how did you know she’s related to Danny?”**

**“Two reasons. One, the resemblance is uncanny.” Ida scanned the child, currently in human form. “If not for the boy’s age, I’d say little Ellie here looks more like his daughter than any sister or cousin.”**

**“Hmm, Ellie…” Danielle sampled the name on her tongue. “I kinda like it.”**

**“And the second?”**  
  
**“I’ve seen how you talked about her.” Ida smiled slyly. “Why else would my granddaughter have such a big smile on her face?”**

**Sam only blushed in response.**

* * *

Sam blushed again in the present, as she recalled the moment. _You always had better eyes than everyone else, Grandma._

She turned around, pulled back the blanket, saw Ember floating with her arms folded in the corner, reached for the lamp-

_Wait._

_Ember…_

_EMBER!?_

“DAN-”

“Shut it.” Ember swooped in and slapped a hand over Sam’s mouth. Her other hand gripped Sam’s arm, reaching in vain for the Fenton Wrist Ray in the nightstand drawer. “Sam Manson, right?”

Her captive glared. 

“Yep, you’re her. I know that self-righteous stare anywhere.”

The glare continued.  
  
“Guess I popped into the wrong room.” She sensed Sam relax under her hold. “You gonna keep quiet if I let go?”  
  
More glaring, then a nod.

When her mouth was released, Sam’s question was ready. “What the heck are _you_ doing here?”

“I got bored, and wanted to see where Phantom’s kid lives.” Remembering Sam’s face, Ember had followed her home one night out of curiosity. It was quite easy; it was a moonless night, and most people never look up. “It’s fancy. Didn’t expect it to be your place though. You always seemed like a gloom-and-doom, sewer tunnel kind o’ chick.”

“Well, I tend to defy expectations.” The ghosts of Princess Dora’s kingdom would attest to that.

“Meh, you’re still just human.” She dismissed. “I wonder what he sees in you.”  
  
“You mean Danny?”  
  
“Yeah, Phantom.” A head tilted, trying to figure this girl out. “Just what are you to him, anyway?”

Sam squinted. “Why are you asking?”

“No reason.” Ember shrugged. “Just saying, you looked like quite the lovebirds last I saw you two together.”

“That was because you _brainwashed_ him!” Sam had lost count of how often she’d said it over the years: “And we’re not lovebirds!”

“Uh huh.” The specter smirked. “Sure.”

“Well, I don’t see you staying away from him,” the goth girl fired back. “Maybe you’re just jeal-”

“Don’t flatter yourself, Gloomy. Or him.” She faked a gagging motion. “He and I just have an arrangement, is all.”

“So I’ve been told.” Sam folded her arms. “I can’t say I like the thought of a supervillain hanging around an innocent little girl, even if she has ghost powers.”

She told her flatly: “I don’t mess with kids.”  
  
“Am I supposed to believe that? Let’s check the record, shall we?” She ticked off the list on one hand:

“First, you tried to hypnotize everyone on the planet into worshipping you.

“Then,” another finger, “you hypnotized every adult in town.

“Then,” a third finger, “you and those other two ghosts tried to wipe every man in Amity Park off the face of the Earth!” Sam replaced them with an accusing point to Ember’s face. “You’ve literally messed with everyone _except_ children specifically.”

“Exactly.” She was unfazed. “And even if I did, your kid’s come out just fine.”

“Because she wasn’t here, and she could only be fine _for now_. How do I know you won’t… I don’t know… corrupt her somehow?”  
  
“Ooh, quite the strong argument. Except,” Ember noted, “if I wanted her as a slave to my song, I’d have done it by now.”

“Exactly. You could have just-” Sam stopped. “Now that I think about it, why _haven’t_ you?”

“Ghosts have rules,” she explained. “We don’t mess with ghost kids.”

“Oh yeah, Danny mentioned that.” Sam considered the possibility that she was telling the truth, knowing of the Christmas truce. “But I get the feeling there’s more to it than that.” Her natural curiosity surfaced. “You’re not exactly the law-abiding type.”  
  
“True.” Ember took her words as praise. “But even if I did have reasons, they’re none of your business.” She smugly stared down to her. “Are they, Manson?”  
  
“I’m taking care of Danielle.” She stared back, standing firm. “Her welfare, including who she spends time with, _is_ my business.”

The room went still. It seemed neither would budge…

…until Sam softened her approach. “Look, I promise what you say won’t leave this room. No one will know.”

Silent consideration, then a quiet question: “Not even Phantom?”

“Not even Danny.”  
  
“Alright.” She looked around, just to make sure. “The kid kinda…” she muttered the rest, “…reminded me of me.”

“Really?” Sam was surprised, then skeptical. “You two are literally fire and ice. She’s sweet, and you’re…”

“Yeah, a supervillain, I know.” She rolled her eyes, which soon looked to the side as her mind drifted to the past. “Funny thing about being a ghost, though: sometimes you have a few memories rattling around of the old you.”

“You remember your life?”  
  
“Did I stutter?” She snapped back. “Anyway, I don’t remember all the details. But I got some pieces, feelings, things like that. The kid, when I looked at her thawing out, scared…”

Ember heard Danielle’s words loud and clear.

**“I don’t wanna go away again.”**

 “…lonely…”

“You were alone too, in your old life?”

“I dunno…” Ember shoved the memory away, then fighting off another…

**_A teenage girl, her face a blur but her green eyes familiar, her tears chilled by the winds of September, beginning the long walk home…_ **

“…Maybe.”

“It makes so much sense now.” Sam gasped as she concluded: “You don’t want her to be alone, to feel like you do!”

“Wait a minute!” Ember raised a hand to stop her. “Don’t put words in my mouth!”

Sam didn’t listen. “I didn’t think you could be so…”

“So _what_?” She didn’t like where this was going.

“Well, I never imagined someone like you could care about anyone else, that you _could be_ caring! You’re…” an astonished smile crossed Sam’s face, “a lot nicer than I thought.”

Ember asked through gritted teeth, “Are you calling me _soft_?”

“You’ve definitely got a soft spot for— _ack!_ ”

Ember held Sam by the collar with one hand, the latter’s head meeting the ceiling.

Haughty green eyes watched helpless prey. “Still think I’m soft now?”  
  
“Ember-”

“I’m not too soft to waste you. And with a human like you, it’d be _so easy._ ” Her free hand pointed. “A hand around the neck.” Her hand went lower. “A good grip on the heart. Or even better…” She raised an index finger wreathed in flame. “No one would wake up. It wouldn’t leave a body.”

Ember watched Sam follow the waving finger with her eyes.

“Just a pile of ashes.”

“You’re bluffing.” Sam stayed firm, knowing the truth. “Danny would know. He’d never trust you again if he knew you were threatening me. And if you really went through with it, he’d make you pay.”

“I could take him. Besides,” the songstress sneered, “you think I care what the Dipstick thinks of me?”  
  
“I’m starting to think you do.” She squinted against the light, felt the heat. “And you care what Danielle thinks too.”

For an instant the flame dimmed, before it brightened in defiance.

“If you hurt me, she’d hate you. At the very least, you’d break her heart.” Sam pressed on, despite the bead of sweat falling down her neck. “She might even turn into someone like you.”  
  
An eye twitched. “What are you-”

“You might not have messed with my mind when you first came to town, but I still remember that song.” Sam gave a smirk of victory as Ember’s gaze drifted away, then back. She was almost there… “I’d never want to see Danielle like that, especially if it was all my fault.”

The finger inched closer.

“Do _you_?”

Ember closed her eyes, turning her finger into a flaming fist.

Sam closed hers in turn.

Then she heard her.

“You win.” 

Sam fell onto the bed, freed. In her fear, she hadn’t realized Ember had lowered her during their talk.

“I guess you don’t wear those combat boots for nothing, Manson!” The ghost chuckled, but it sounded joyless, pained, before she shifted gears. “Now I know where your kid gets it from.”

“How old do you think I am?” The human blushed at the implication. “She’s not my daughter!”

“Heh, that’s what _he_ always says, and I don’t buy it from him either.” Ember wondered, however, “You really think she cares that much about you?”

“I can’t say.” Sam bashfully looked to the door, thinking of the girl down the hall. “Maybe not now, but someday…”

“Aww,” Ember jibed, “the emo chick’s getting maternal. How cute.”

“I’m not emo, I’m goth!” Sam proclaimed. “And besides, you’re one to talk.”

“Hey, I’m nobody’s mom.” Ember folded her arms, then looked to the side. “If anything, I’m more like… an aunt.” She nodded, a light blue blush on her cheeks. “The _cool_ aunt.”

“Well then, ‘Aunt Ember,’” Sam stood up off the bed, “if we’re all going to do this together, and you really won’t hurt Danielle, then I guess we should start things fresh.”

She outstretched her hand.

“Truce?”

“Part of me still wants to pay you back for messing up girls’ night, but… alright, Manson.” A surprisingly cold hand met Sam’s own and shook. “Truce.”

She suddenly found herself yanked in close.

“But if I find out you so much as gave Ellie a _paper cut,_ I will hunt you down.” Stern black eyes drilled into quizzical green ones. “Understand?”

“Okay, geez.” Ember phased out of her grip. “Whatever you say…”

“Good.”  
  
“…Mrs. Phantom.”

“You’re really not helping keep up this truce.”

“I mess with people.” The ghost smiled. “Did I forget to mention that’s my part of the deal?”

“Ugh.” Sam’s groan turned into a yawn; evading death by immolation took a lot out of her. “Oh, wow, I’m beat.” 

“Get your sleep, Manson.” She floated back, giving Sam her space to enter the bed. “You’ll see me again.”

“We’re all going out tomorrow… maybe…” She was too drowsy to finish her thought.  
  
“Me and the family Dipstick, together in public?” She scoffed. “Not in this afterlife.”  
  
Sam didn’t hear her, already in slumber.

Ember phased out of the room, not staying where she wasn’t wanted. She didn’t leave, however, until she reached her destination.

“Found you.”

She found herself staring a bit as Danielle lay at peace, until the tell-tale vapor of ghost sense made the halfa stir in her sleep. Ember took it as her cue to leave, taking care to remember the proper room to enter next time. 

It wasn’t until she was floating across the street of the manor that she chided herself.

 _Aunt Ember?_   She almost slapped herself, shaking her own head. _You’re losing it, McLain._

She recalled the goth girl’s last words. _Still…_

_Maybe I’ll pop in on the twerp tomorrow… away from the lovebirds, of course._

She looked back at the home, before soaring off into the night.

“Good night, kid.”

**END**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It wouldn't be right to have Ember join the Phantom family without her meeting another important part of it. As shown in the previous chapter as well as the episode "Life Lessons," Sam Manson has quite the maternal instinct hidden under that gothic appearance.


	5. Part V

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Dani considers her relationships with Team Phantom, and Skulker learns why a hunter should never prey on the young.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Note: _Thought or Emphasis_ ; **Flashback** ; **_Thought or Emphasis in Flashback_**. Certain type may also be used signify **SOUND** or other  dramatic **_effects_** as necessary.

**Danny Phantom: Not So Bad**

Part V

“Can you hear me up there?”  
  
Danielle Phantom soared high above Amity Park, a place that she was soon starting to call home.

“I hear you loud and clear, Sam!” Dani tapped the Fenton Phone in her ear, one half of Sam’s spare pair. “These work great!”

Sam was fun (and her home movie theater was amazing), but Danielle was feeling cooped up in the Manson house and wanted to stretch her legs. A trip to the park or the mall as a normal girl didn’t feel like enough, so instead, she decided to fly about and make her own fun.

The summer breeze flowing through her snow-white hair reminded her of the brighter times of her world tour, but the view reminded her of her first time flying through Amity’s skies: from searching as a spy for her creator—she stopped calling Vlad her father—to searching for the young man who had become her family. She had sought only his help, but he gave her much more.

Today, however, she didn’t have his company. Jack Fenton had whisked his son away for another weekend trip to the haunted Lake Eerie. Danny had muttered something about ‘hoping he wouldn’t have to face _him_ again,’ but he was gone before she could ask more.

Her thoughts often dwelled on him.

“I wonder how Danny’s doing.”

“Knowing him, he’s probably bored half-asleep while his dad tells him his life story again. He probably wishes he could fly off the boat right now.” Sam understood the feeling; sometimes she wished she had ghost powers just to get away from her parents.

“Is Danny’s dad that bad?”

“He’s not bad. He’s just…” Sam paused, “…different.”

“Different...” She looked down to her gloved hands. “Like me?”

Dani remembered the darker times on her world tour. Some, like children, reacted to the ghost girl with wonder, but others ran in fear at displays of her powers; still others screamed curses in languages she didn’t understand. When her Phantom Freeze first awakened, she was briefly unsure whether to return to Amity Park, in fear she would face ghost hunters who would shoot first and ask questions never.

Fortunately, her heart reminded her of the people on her side, as a voice did now. “Ellie?”

“Yeah?”  
  
“He’s different in his own way, and so are you,” Sam assured. “Your ‘different’ is good. Don’t forget that.”

Dani gave an unseen smile. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. Now, are you sure you’re okay alone?”  
  
“I’m fine, _Mom,_ ” Dani joked, not seeing Sam’s cheeks redden on the other end of the line. “I’m just exploring a little. I’ll call you if something big comes up.”

“Well, don’t go too far,” she advised. “I promised Danny I’d keep you safe.”

“I’ll be fine!” The ghost girl waved it off. “What’s the worst that could happen?”

A chill went down Sam’s spine at the words, but before she could warn her, Dani shut off her Fenton Phone, flying farther away and into the city.

Neither girl had any idea that robotic eyes scanned from a distance.

“A ghost child?”

Sam had failed to tell Danielle of her relative’s luck:

_Whenever Danny asks what could happen…_

A steel mouth grinned.

“I’ll enjoy hanging this rarity on my wall.”

 _…the universe always has an answer._  

* * *

 Back in the skies, Danielle’s thoughts had again returned to her… ‘cousin’?

“No, ‘cousin’ doesn’t quite feel right. What is he to me now?”

What Ember said back in Frostbite’s infirmary bore some weight:

**“You’re his flesh and blood. He takes care of you. Sounds like a dad to me.”**

But then, Sam wasn’t blood related—yet she tucked her in at night, took her to the park and the mall, and told her stories about meeting Danny and different ghosts. What did that make her?  
  
Whatever this bond was, it meant something to her— _they_ meant something to her. “I owe him for what he’s done for me. Him and Sam.” She sat in midair, a hand to her chin in thought. “But what do I do?”  
  
She had no money for a gift, though, and she had given them words of gratitude all the time.

Then she looked down. The DP symbol on her chest, white against black, gave her the idea. “I got it! I’ll take down a ghost! Just like they would do!”

However…

“Oh, come on!” She shouted to no one. “Nothing?”

Dani had gone too far—across town, in fact. Her speed, which had increased since her stabilization, made the trip an easy one. Of course, that didn’t mean it wasn’t annoying, two hours spent without a single specter in sight.

“I really hope Sam isn’t mad.” She had forgotten to call her the whole time, her usual solitude (and the occasional talking to herself) a habit from her traveling days. “Maybe I should just give up.”

A vapor left her lips, her ghost sense directing her vision to the east. A speedy green streak went past, but she caught a glimpse of its tentacles.

“An ectopus?” Dani scoffed at the creature, a surprisingly frequent sight on her adventures. “Puh-lease. I could take one of these down in my sleep!”

The ghost girl gave chase. As it turned out, she needed to be wide awake to catch up to the creature as it twisted and turned through the business district. Eight high-rises, thirty-three floors, two interrupted video conferences, and one half-frozen water cooler later, the ectopus was finally beaten.

“Gotcha.” She put the cap on her own Fenton Thermos; like the Phones, Sam had a spare.

“Now that I think about her,” she realized, “maybe I should-”

Her ghost sense broke her thoughts, as did a new voice.

“And the whelpette takes the bait.”

“What did you call me?” She turned to the stranger, who floated from behind a billboard. “And who are you?”

The new face was one of metal, as was the rest of him, an off-white “skin” visible through the outfit. He wore a black tank top and pants, a piece of armor on his left shoulder, and dark gray boots. His bare arms, with metal seams at various angles, went down to dark gray gauntlets filled with devices designed for capture and worse. A dark gray belt crossed his chest, another belt wrapping around his waist with a proudly adorned “S.”

His hair and beard consisted of green flames, reminding Danielle of another certain ghost.

This one, however, was much less friendly.

“I am Skulker, the Ghost Zone’s greatest hunter!” His chest seemed to swell. “And you, little one, are very special.”

“Yeah, I am.” She remembered Sam’s words. “So, what?”  
  
“Special things deserve a special place. Your place is in my collection of rare creatures—my newest trophy: the half-ghost!”

“I think I’ll pass. I just got my own bedroom, and I’m not giving that up anytime soon.” Her hands charged with ecto-energy, a silent warning. “And how did you-”

“Know? The resemblance to the _other_ ghost child is obvious.” He squinted inquisitively. “Although, I am curious of your relation…”

“Danny’s my-” She paused; the right word escaped her. “It’s none of your business. I’m not going anywhere with you.”  
  
“Oh, but you don’t have a choice.” He smirked with confidence. “Maybe your lookalike has escaped my grasp, but you are something else.” He observed the girl, still catching her breath. “My little ectopus has already worn you down, and now I can go in for the kill.”

“Keep away, creep!” Danielle showed she still had energy to spare, a powerful blast erupting from her palms. Skulker simply pressed a button on his gauntlet, projecting a dome of ecto-energy around himself that absorbed the attack. “What the-”

“A new function,” he noted as the shield came down, “still a prototype.” He raised his right arm. “This, on the other hand…”

A cannon emerged from his forearm, shooting an ecto-ray at double the strength of hers. Caught by surprise, Dani took a solid hit to the chest, sending her crashing onto the roof of a music store.

“Is that all you had, little one?” He shook his head. “Your elder clearly didn’t teach you the rules of the chase.” He shrugged. “I might as well end it now.”  
  
The ghost girl rose just in time to notice him toss a black cube at her feet.

She raised an eyebrow. “Um, I think you missed.”

“Did I?”  
  
Before she knew it, the cube enlarged, encasing her in a box with green circuitry on all sides. Only her head was free.

“HEY!” She squirmed in her new prison. She tried to access her power, but nothing came forth. “What the heck is this thing?”

“A spectral energy neutralizer. Your powers are useless.”  Skulker smiled. “Plasmius helps me make the most fascinating tools.”

“Powers or no powers, just wait till I—AAAAHHH!” Another gauntlet button pressed sent electricity coursing through her veins.

“Look at you.” He stared at the dizzied girl as familiar white rings swept over her face. “You may be rare, but now, you’re just as weak as any human.” His artificial visage gave the closest expression he could to a sneer. “I’m almost disappointed you weren’t a challenge.”

Still addled, she tried to fight back with a glare. “I’ll… show you…”

“No, I’ll show you.” He tapped her head. “If I know the whelp, he’ll come for you. He’ll travel all over the Ghost Zone to find you.” He raised an open palm. “He’ll be desperate, he’ll be angry, he’ll make a mistake, and then…”

He clenched the palm into a fist.  
  
“…he’ll be mine.” 

Now she was fully awake. “I won’t let you hurt Danny!”

“Oh, I don’t need you to let me, child.”

With a clench of his left hand, a green blade shot from his wrist, resting near her chin.

“All I need is to take off a piece, and he’ll come running.”

Danielle’s human heart quickened at the sight. “But… but he’s not here!”  
  
His face fell at that reveal, but his anger quickly changed to a sinister glee. He leaned in close.

“Then I guess that means,” he whispered in her ear, “no one is coming to save you.”

A tear rolled down her face.

Sam was on the other side of town.

Danny was on the other side of the state.

She was powerless.

But…

“WHAT IN BOTH WORLDS DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING!?”

…she was not alone.

“Hmm?” He turned his head to see the ghost phasing through the roof. “Oh, great.”

Danielle knew the ghost as well, and happily cried out her name:

“EMBER!”

“Here I was, checking out some tunes for inspiration, when some chump starts having their own jam session on the roof.” She rolled her eyes. “I should have known it was you.”

“Ember, what an unpleasant surprise.” He tried to go back to his work. “If you’ll just give me a moment, I’ll leave you alone to-”

“I asked you a question, metal mouth.” Her eyes locked onto Danielle. “What do you think you’re doing with her?”

“I… uh,” her attitude was familiar, but in this situation confused him. “I’m taking this female Phantom back to my lair, where-”

“You’re leaving her here.”

He turned back around. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me right, trash can.” Ember put her hands on her hips, now looking Skulker in the eye. “You’re not laying another cast-iron finger on her.”

“You dare interrupt my hunt?” His titanium teeth gritted as he stepped closer. “Try to take away my prey?” 

“Either she gets out of that box,” she summoned her guitar, “or you go home in one.”

He hesitated; he was still salvaging the remains of his last robot suit.

“And after I’m done tearing you apart, maybe I’ll tell Walker all about your little hunt today too. He’ll be thrilled to hear about you breaking the ghost children rule…”  
  
“She’s only half-ghost,” he tried to argue, “no more protected than the whelp-”

“…not to mention those missing prison guards you’ve been testing your tech on back in your lair.”

His jaw dropped, reducing him to a stammer. “H-h-how did you-”

“Know? Well,” she smirked. “I had to know everything I could about my _loving boyfriend_ , just in case. We’re both villains, remember?”

“But… but… I am the-”  
  
“Walk away.” Her fingers graced her guitar strings. “While I’m _letting_ you.”

Green stared against green, mechanical to supernatural, until one gave in.

“Fine.” Wings opened from his back, a pair of jet engines sending him into the air. He looked back to the girl in the cube, proclaiming, “This isn’t over, whelpette! For you or Danny Phantom!” He blasted off, to hunt another day.

Ember watched his retreat.

“Idiot.”

No, not ‘Dipstick.’ A man like that didn’t deserve it.  
  
Danielle was so stunned, she forgot her predicament. “That guy’s your _boyfriend_?”

“ _Ex-_ boyfriend.” She muttered to herself, “Can’t believe I was ever into him.”

A few seconds of feeling around the neutralizer led Ember’s hands to the skull-shaped ‘Power’ button. One press returned Danielle’s cage into its small box form.

The girl stared at it, frozen.

She hadn’t been that helpless since…

_Vlad._

Of course, only he would help make something so despicable.

“You’re lucky I was in the neighborhood, kid.” Ember broke her from her reverie.

“Yeah.” She turned to the rocker ghost, first with slow steps.

Then Ember felt the girl’s full weight, felt the tears stain her clothes.

“I haven’t been that scared since… since I almost…”

Ember knew; Danny told the story of his loved one’s near-dissolution with a detail that broadcast his pain. “Kid…”

A hand passed through Danielle’s black hair.

_Black hair._

This wasn’t the tough little halfa she sparred with weeks ago, Ember realized.

This was Danielle, the human.

And despite it, to her own shock, Ember didn’t pull away.

“…It’s gonna be okay.”  
  
“I know.” Dani walked back to the cube, wiping away her tears and taking her Phantom form. Her angry green eyes glowed before she crushed the trap underfoot. “I don’t ever want to see that thing again.”

“You just might see an encore anyway,” Ember noted; “Guys like him hate to lose.” She pondered, _I wonder what I can do about that._

“Thanks so much, Ember! You just saved my life… again!” Dani’s smile shone brightly once more. “I really owe you one!”

“Two or three, probably.” Ember smirked. “But don’t thank me yet.”

“Why not?”  
  
“Because I’m dropping you off with your mom.”  
  
“My mom…?” Her eyes widened. “Oh.”

* * *

“Danielle Phantom!” Sam loomed over her, arms folded as she stood with the others in Dani’s room. “Where on Earth have you been!?”

“So, um,” The child began to ramble. “I was chasing this ghost, and I think I was too far away with the Fenton Phones, then this crazy robot guy named Stalker started-”

“SKULKER!?”

“Yeah, that’s it, so I-”

“Stop.” She raised her hand. “I left you alone for two hours, and you thought you would run off and fight one of Danny’s toughest enemies?”  
  
“Hey, I didn’t know that!” Danielle protested. “He found me! And like I said, I was fighting something else.”

“And you didn’t call me the whole time, because…?”  
  
“Well, I was gonna call, but I thought I could handle it.” She shifted her feet, “And maybe…”

“I bet she wanted to impress you by playing hero,” Ember interrupted. “You know, doing _your_ thing?”

“Nobody asked you, Ember!”

“Don’t get snippy with me, Manson.” She frowned at the human’s audacity. “If I wasn’t around, your little girl would’ve been stuffed and mounted by sunrise. You ought to be on your knees, thanking me!”

“I think she’s right,” Dani told her. “I’d have been a goner without her.” She floated up to hug the elder ghost at the shoulders.

Sam gawked as Ember briefly— _very_ briefly—hugged back.

The little Phantom jumped back after a thought. “Oh yeah! I almost forgot.” She pulled out her Thermos. “I did catch the ghost I was after!” She remarked haughtily, “It was easy.”

The goth took the Thermos and looked Dani over. She was covered in dirt, a few scrapes, some ectoplasm Sam prayed was the other ghost’s, and apparently random stains of water. “Somehow, I doubt that.”  
  
Sam took Danielle into her arms.

“But I’m so glad to see you’re okay.”

Danielle relaxed into the warmth. She didn’t know this feeling, not even with Danny, but...

It felt right.

“Well, if you two are over your family drama, I’m gonna split.” Ember began to float away, knowing a ‘moment’ when she saw one. “There’s an album in Moon’s Music Store calling my name.”

“Wait.” Sam reached up, grabbing Ember’s wrist. “I should thank you.”

“Got that right.” She mused, “What were you even gonna do if she called anyway? Take a bus?”

“I, er…” Sam blushed. “I have a moped, you know!”

“Ooh, sounds heroic,” she jibed. “Still not seeing you on your knees by the way.”  
  
“Hmph.” Violet eyes glared, defiant. “Not on your afterlife.”

Ember laughed. “Alright, Manson, I guess I’ll let it slide.” She turned to the girl she saved. “Try to keep out of trouble, would ya?”

Dani simply smiled. “No promises!”

She chuckled. “Didn’t think you would. See you around, kid.” She floated up again, before she paused, with a mischievous grin. “Oh, and tell daddy Dipstick to expect a match real soon.”

“I will!”

Ember turned her hair into a spiral of flame surrounding her body. With her trademark echoing laugh, she vanished.

“So, the ghost of a dead rock musician just promised she’d attack my best friend, and it feels… normal.” Sam asked to no one, “Is it weird that I’m getting used to this?”  
  
“Well, I already have,” Dani answered. “Ember’s different, but maybe it’s like you said.”  
  
They both looked at the space where she left.

“Maybe this ‘different’ is good.”

“Hmm, maybe.” Sam looked at Danielle. “You know, I never told you about the first time Danny met Skulker.”

“Ooh!” The ghost girl jumped onto her bed, expectant. “What happened?”

“I’ll tell you later.” Sam pointed to her dirty clothes. “First a shower, then the story.”  
  
She pouted. “Alright.”  
  
“Great!” Sam sported a grin that made the distant Danny and Tucker shiver. “I’ll go get the pictures.”

* * *

** Three days later… **

“GAH!”

On a barren rock in the Ghost Zone, a certain hunter lay in defeat. He lacked an arm and a leg, his wings broken, unable to escape a furious predator.

The beast bore snow-white hair and glowing green eyes.

“You come after me, shoot me, punch me, call me whelp? Fine.” A punch nearly caved in Skulker’s face. “I can take it, and you’d better believe I’ll give it right back.”

Skulker raised a hand to fire an emergency ecto-ray, but a blue beam froze the hand solid. An ice gauntlet slapped it away, allowing it to break off from the arm and shatter on the ground.

“But coming after Danielle?” The gauntlets changed into claws, aiming for Skulker’s head. “Big mistake.”

“NO, DON’T!”  
  
His cry went unheeded, the claws ripping in deep and parting the metal to reveal the truth. A tiny green ghost resided inside, shocked and afraid.

“One warning, Skulker. If you ever come after Danielle again…”

Danny Phantom picked up the tiny hunter, and squeezed.

“…I will squash you like a grape!”

He threw the villain into the void, watching him become an even smaller speck.

He soon felt a presence behind him, one he was beginning to recognize. “Thanks for letting me know about him, Ember.”

“Haven’t seen your dark side before. No wonder you didn’t tell the others about this little trip.” Ember squinted into the distance. “Think he got the message?"

“Oh yeah. And trust me,” he thought of a certain Thermos, “that wasn’t my dark side.”

“Good to know. So…” She avoided his gaze. “I guess you’re heading home?”  
  
“Not yet. I still owe you.” His hand coated itself in ice. “Rematch?”  
  
Her hand wreathed itself in flame. “Bring it on.” 

**END**


	6. Part VI

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dani faces a new enemy... from WHERE!?

Author’s Note: _Thought or Emphasis_ ; **Flashback** ; **_Thought or Emphasis in Flashback._ ** Certain type may also be used signify **SOUND** or other dramatic ** _effects_** as necessary.

I don’t own _Danny Phantom._

 **Danny Phantom: Not So Bad**  

Part VI

“How many has it been so far?”

“Looks like three... and counting.”

Danny Fenton and Sam Manson sat at Amity Park’s teen hangout, the Nasty Burger. While its red-and-white appearance was unassuming, the local burger joint had been a focal point for quite a few notable events: from a meeting of the world’s greatest (and not so great) ghost hunters, to the accidental injury of a “defenseless” Danny carelessly attacked by Mayor Vlad Masters.

Only a select few knew that darker events could have unfolded here…

Luckily, that time would never come to pass. Instead, Amity’s young citizens, free for the summer, could enjoy themselves.

One of these happy youths was Danny and Sam’s young charge, Danielle, having her first Nasty Burger ever—or, rather, her fourth. Danny and Sam had witnessed her appetite before, but it had hardly ever looked this messy.

“This burger rocks!” The little girl gave a gooey smile. Sauce smeared over her lips and chin, and dripped over a Nasty Junior with everything on it. “Your pick was perfect, Tucker!”

“Glad I could help, Danielle.” The third original member of Team Phantom, the bereted and bespectacled Tucker Foley, watched with pride as the new addition continued her lunch. The first Nasty Burger he ever tried was the one he suggested, and he was glad to pass down his knowledge of all things meaty. “An experienced connoisseur such as myself always knows where to get the good stuff.”

“This is the _good_ stuff?” Sam looked around. “I think the only things with more grease than those burgers are the walls of this place.”  
  
“Ah, don’t listen to her.” Tucker waved her off. “We’re just lucky Miss Ultra-recyclo-vegetarian even let you step foot in here.”

“Well, the sight of those meat balls disgusts me,” her stomach almost flipped at seeing the debris on Danielle’s plate, “but it is kind of our hangout spot.” She still had enough appetite to sip from her straw, though. “Plus, the shakes are amazing.”

“Milkshakes?” Danielle perked up her ears as she finished her sandwich, finally taking notice of Sam’s dessert. “Ooh, can I have one?”

“You just went through four Nasty Juniors already,” Danny noted. “You’ve got to be ready to burst!”

“I’m a growing girl.” **Burp.** “Heh, excuse me.”

“I think that’s enough, Ellie.” Sam put her foot down. “Just because we can afford it, doesn’t mean I’m going to let you stuff yourself on-”

“Pleeeease?” The girl showed a mastery of the puppy-dog pout.

Sam lifted her foot up. “Alright. But you’re taking it easy after this. No junk food for the rest of the day!”

“Deal.”

As the girls went up to the counter to order, the boys stayed at the table.

Danny watched the girls with a fond smile. “She’s totally spoiling her.” He turned to Tucker, who sported a smile of his own. “What?”

“What’s it like being a teenage dad?”  
  
“Come on, Tuck,” he rebuffed. “I get enough of that from Ember.”

“Still wrapping my head around that too. Ember’s your friend now?” He pointed out, “Also, I don’t hear you exactly denying what I said.”

“Look, this thing with Ember’s still uncharted territory, and so’s my relationship with Dani. There’s no rush in trying to define either.”

“Well, I don’t know about Ember,” Tucker looked at the girls discussing milkshake flavors, “but from what I’ve been seeing, it looks like you and Sam already defined things with Danielle.” He bit into a fry, then pointed it at Danny. “ _Someone_ ’s just afraid to admit it.”

“There’s nothing to admit.”

“So, I didn’t catch you two in the park yesterday, pushing her on the swings?”

“Hey, she didn’t know how,” Danny explained. “Vlad wasn’t exactly father of the year with her.”

“And you _are_?”

“You know that’s not what I meant!”  
  
“And Sam’s little nickname doesn’t mean anything either, huh?”

“Friends give each other nicknames, _Tuck_.” Danny locked eyes with Danielle, who walked back with her hands on a vanilla-chocolate mix, close to a certain hero’s colors. “Besides, ‘Ellie’s’ a cute name. If I had a kid someday, I’d probably name her-” Danny clamped his mouth shut.

“See?” Tucker simply adjusted his glasses. “It’s a sign.”

Danny failed to say more before the girls reached the table.

“Remember to take it slow. You may have… abilities,” Sam hinted, “but you still might be able to get brain freeze.”

Danielle rolled her eyes, and playfully replied, “Yes, _Mom_ , I’ll be careful.”

Tucker could barely hide his laugh at Sam’s scarlet cheeks; a boot met his shin under the table. Even Danny felt a chortle at his own lips, but a slap on his arm convinced him to stuff it down.

Danielle looked over the frozen treat, licking her lips. “I’m definitely gonna take my time with this.” She raised her spoon to get a bite of the sweet stuff…

…when the utensil floated out of her hand, and the shake followed.

“What?”

She wasn’t the only one flabbergasted—food throughout the restaurant, frozen and fried alike, began to levitate and swirl in the air. As if guided by invisible wind, they whisked out the door and into the sky.

Tucker’s eyes bulged. “I’ve heard of getting food to-go, but this is ridiculous!”

The chilling vapor of ghost sense left Danny and Danielle’s mouths, trailing the floating food. “Trouble,” the boy announced. The duo went to the restrooms for a place to change, but before he left, a hand gripped his.

“Wait!” His charge pleaded. “Let me handle this one myself.”

“You sure?”

“Oh yeah,” she nodded. “No one messes with my dessert!”

“Then I’ll be right behind you.” He smiled. “Good luck!”

She slipped into the girls’ room and with a flash of light, Dani Phantom entered the scene. Ascending through the roof of the Nasty Burger, she demanded to know:

“Alright, who are you, and why’d you swipe my shake?”

Dani looked at a ghost girl who appeared younger than her. The red-eyed, blue-skinned child had freckles on her cheeks and short black hair under a pink hair net, with twin ponytails poking out from the top. She wore gray overalls over a pink shirt, gray gloves, and dark gray shoes.

“I am Box Lunch, daughter of the Box Ghost and the Lunch Lady!” She pointed to her opponent. “And you will face flash-frozen, 100%-ground-beefy DOOM!”  Her excited eyes turned sweet. “Want some fries with that?”  
  
“Uhh…” Dani answered, “No thanks.”  
  
“THEN SUFFER!”

With a grand wave of her arms, a dozen boxes of hamburger patties surrounded her form, until their contents formed into a suit of armor, only her face revealed. Lifting her hand, she fired globs of meat at her dodging adversary. The patties fell to the earth, thawing out and landing with a wet squelch each time.

“Eww.” The little Phantom saw a few unlucky civilians pull out the clumps that fell onto their clothes and hair. “I think I’m starting to see why Sam’s a vegetarian.” She looked back, about to be pelted by a barrage of fries, but put up a shield just in time. “What are you even doing here?”

“I explored the Ghost Zone in search of adventure, when I arrived in this unfamiliar world! If they will not assist me in my plight, then they will fear my delicious might!” She screamed a strangely familiar warning: “BEWARE!" 

Dani watched the child attempt an evil laugh… and cough as her throat went dry. She saw her opening, pulling back her fist to fire a ghost ray—

But rather than attack, she took a moment to consider Box Lunch’s words. “Wait, plight… you need help?” She let the ecto-energy fade from her hands. “Well, it just so happens I’m a hero. I bet I could help!” She pointed to the symbol on her chest. “The name’s Dani Phantom, with an I.”

“You’re a hero?” The specter scoffed. “A little girl like you could not possibly assist the powerful legacy of—wait a minute.” She gasped. “PHANTOM?”

“First off, I’m not that little, I’m still growing,” she pouted. “Second, you’re not so big yourself, and third… yeah, Phantom.” Dani eyed her warily. “What about it?”

“Of course! How’d I miss that!?” The ghost gawked, floating closer to get a better look. “That’s the symbol of the legendary Phantom Family! But that’s not right.” She squinted. “You kinda look like _her_ , but why are you so small? Are you some fangirl or something?”  
  
“I’m the real deal! For example,” she put her hands together, “could a fake do this?”

She opened her hands to show a growing—and glowing—snowball, blue and green light captured inside. Surprised by the sight, Box Lunch failed to evade the pitch. The ball exploded on contact, ice blanketing the armor in front and turning the meat from red to blue.

“What the…?” Box Lunch’s limbs failed to bend, the cold digging deep. “I can’t move!”

“Hey, it actually worked!” Dani pumped her fist in victory. “And now…”

Dani turned intangible and charged right through the meat suit, tackling the ghost inside. Box Lunch landed with her back to the nearest billboard, helplessly squirming in the heroine’s stronger grip.

“Let me go, faker!”

“I’m not a fake, I’m the real Dani Phantom! And I’ll be happy to let you go, if you just calm down!” Red eyes glowed bright, threatening a shot to the face, but the halfa only returned with her own icy blue glow. “You really want to try that?”

The ghost clenched her eyes shut… then finally relaxed, her head facing down.

“See how easy that was?” Dani assured, “We don’t even have to fight.” She backed away to prove her promise. “Now, let’s just get back down to the Nasty Burger, and-”

She caught a distinctive sniffing sound. She knew the sound well, but couldn’t help but ask, “Hey, are you alright?”

She wasn’t.

“WAAAAHHH!” Twin waterfalls gushed.

“Woah!” She wasn’t ready for this today. “Hey, it’s gonna be okay. I can help you clean up, if that’s what you’re-”

“No, it’s not!” The tears kept flowing. “I’m lost, and I’m scared, and I WANT MY MOMMY AND DADDY!”

Dani felt a pang in her chest.

She wasn’t familiar with this part of the hero job, but her instincts carried her through. Box Lunch’s sobs quieted when she felt black and white arms over her shoulders. “I was like you once.”

“Really?”  
  
“Mmhmm, or something like it. I was kinda lost too, no family, not even a home, until I found one here.”  
  
“You don’t live in the Ghost Zone?” She watched Dani shake her head. “So where are your mommy and daddy?”

“Um, well,” she wavered, “I don’t know if I have those, but-”  
  
“She’s got me.” Danny floated up to the ghost girls, quickly recognizing the one in his relative’s arms. “Box Lunch? What are you doing here?”  
  
“Another one?” She inquired at the sight of the DP symbol. “And how do you know my name?”

“We fought in my kitchen, and here, actually.” He recalled that incredible adventure. “Although, I guess that might not have happened anymore… or did it?” He shook his head. “Time travel’s weird.”  
  
“I’ve never met you before in my entire afterlife, stranger!” Her hands glowed. She may have looked a little bit like _him_ , but that didn’t mean he was to be trusted. “If you come any closer, I’ll take you down!”

He smirked a bit; her threat lost its impact while she was still in Dani’s embrace. “I’m not gonna hurt you, any more than my cousin is. This is going to sound weird, but I think I can help you find your family.”

“Oh, yeah?” She gazed skeptically at the second imposter. “And how?”

Another voice answered for him, echoing around them.

**“TIME OUT.”**

* * *

**"TIME IN."**

 

In the blink of an eye, the town of Amity Park was gone. 

In its place stood the inside of a massive clock tower—a _literal_ clock tower, dark and aged like the grandfather clock it appeared to be. From the ground on which they sat to the ceiling too high to see, gears of various sizes on all sides ticked and turned, each seeming to move to its own beat. Between those gears were windows just as sundry, yet none allowed a sight of the endless realm beyond them.

Only the ghost standing with his back to the group truly knew what each allowed to see; only he understood the tower’s true rhythm and design.

“Daniel Fenton. Danielle. And Box Lunch.”

A light blue-skinned ghost donning a violet cloak revealed himself. His eyes were pure red orbs, a scar running down across his left eye. No legs extended from his violet tunic, only a wispy blue tail. Watches wrapped around his purple gloves, a pocket watch dangled from the black belt around his waist, and a clock resided in his chest, visible for all to see.

In his right hand, he held his most precious and powerful possession: a gleaming iron scepter with a clock at its top end.

Dani saw the adult and acted fast. “Stay back, Box Lunch!” Dani put an arm in front of her. “I don’t know how this guy knows us, but we won’t let him hurt you!” She turned to her partner, who had his guard down. “…Danny?”

“It’s okay, Dani,” he assured. “He’s a good guy.”

“You need not fear me, Danielle.” The ghost introduced himself, his scepter held grandly:

“I am Clockwork, Ghost Master of Time.”

As if to demonstrate, his adult form faded away, replaced with a child, looking younger than the trio.

“Hey, Clockwork.” As his ‘cousin’ stared in awe, Danny greeted the ancient being with a handshake. “I was going to see you anyway.”  
  
“I know.” The same voice came out of his youthful body.

“Right.” He informed the girls: “Clockwork knows everything.”

“Including your story, Box Lunch.” The girl peeked out from behind Dani’s shoulder. “And I will assist you from here.”  
  
The once boastful villain shivered under his gaze. “What is this place?”  
  
“You are in my Tower, the nexus wherein I conduct the first steps of my work: observing the past, the present,” he shifted into an old man, “and all futures.”

“Don’t you mean, ‘the future?’” The little Phantom interjected.

“I do not, Danielle.” With his scepter, he pointed to a cluster of viewing windows, which sprung to life showing various worlds. “Every choice made affects one’s personal timeline. Actions of yesterday created today, and the choices you make today create countless futures. Your… ‘cousin’ knows this well.” He turned to him, “Don’t you, Daniel?”

Danny’s eyes locked onto a Fenton Thermos on a distant pedestal; it was dented and bent, but still standing.

“I do.”

“You, Box Lunch, come from one of these futures.” He explained, “In your childish exploration of your era’s Ghost Zone, you stumbled upon a rare form of ghost portal; one not only capable of crossing space, but time as well.” He looked at his watch. “By my count, you are ten years in your past. You have yet to even be born.”

“So that means…” she mumbled in shock, “You two are the real Danny Phantom… AND DANI PHANTOM!?”

Dani grinned. “Told ya.”

“You’re my IDOLS! Second to my mommy and daddy, of course.” Her eyes practically sparkled. “Especially you, Dani! The whole Zone knows about how you beat-”

She stopped. Her entire body stopped, covered in a green aura.

“Wait, what?” Dani waved a hand in front of her frozen fan, then turned to Clockwork. “Beat who?”

“Sorry, children, but…” The Master of Time pressed another button on his scepter, rewinding Box Lunch’s words with an oddly playful wink. “No spoilers.”

“I’m with him. You don’t want to know your future. You definitely don’t want to mess with the past either.” Danny shuddered at the mental image of Jack Plasmius. “Trust me.”

“—AND DANI PHANTOM?” Box Lunch blinked. “Didn’t I just say that?”  
  
“Don’t worry about it,” Dani shrugged. “We should get you home.”

“Indeed.” Clockwork directed the future child to one of the windows, showing a floating warehouse/deli combo within an endless green sky.

“That’s it! That’s my lair!”

“It is. You will return to your era only a few minutes after you left. Your parents will be none the wiser, and it will be as if you never left at all.” He raised his scepter. “You need only enter." 

“Wow.” Box Lunch reached a hand forward, a step away from home, when she paused. “Wait.”

The pink and gray blur tackled Dani off her feet.

“Thank you so much!” Dani found it lucky she didn’t need to breathe in ghost form, or the arms around her throat would be a problem. “You really are a hero! _My_ hero!”

Dani patted her on the back. “No problem, Boxie.”

“She called me Boxie!” Her eyes sparkled once more.

“Just promise to be a good ghost, okay?” The little halfa warned, “Don’t make future me have to fight you someday.”

“I promise!” She nodded to her idol. “I might even become a better hero than future you! And all evildoers who oppose me will BEWARE! MWAHAHAHAHAHA!”

Box Lunch dashed off into the portal, to her family and time. It rippled, then settled, a mere window once more.

Dani wondered, “Did that sound… evil to you?”  
  
Her ‘cousin’ replied, “A little.”

“Do not worry, Phantoms.” Clockwork looked to the portal, where the ghost crashed into her father with tears in her eyes, “believe it or not, the events of today were quite the turning point.”

He pointed his scepter to Dani.

“Had you ignored her words this afternoon and continued to fight instead, her fear and anger would have festered, and in the most likely scenario, she would have been your enemy for the rest of the year.”

Then he pointed to Danny.

“Had you faced her instead, Daniel, there was a chance she would not have believed your words, and run off into an unfamiliar Ghost Zone. In one of the worst futures, Walker would have deemed her a trespasser in his territory, and sentenced her to a ‘lenient’ century of imprisonment.”

“Woah… wait, _one_ of the worst?”

“Yes, one.” Even he was sadly moved at some of what he’d seen. “Shall I explain the future had _Vladimir Plasmius_ found her instead?”

“No thanks,” Dani frowned. Since the incident with Skulker, just saying his name seemed to sour her mood.

“So, you see, Danielle, Daniel, this was for the best.”

“I’d been wondering why you didn’t just get Box Lunch yourself after she landed in Amity Park.” Danny realized, “She was supposed to be there, wasn’t she?” He squinted at Clockwork. “Did you plan this?”

The old ghost smirked under the cloak. “Everything’s the way it’s supposed to be.”

He activated his scepter, and with the spin of a clock hand, the Phantom duo was gone.

* * *

 

Danny opened his eyes to see the interior of the Nasty Burger. He looked down, his finished meal right where he left it. Looking out to the restaurant, no sauce splatters, beverages, or burger meat stained the walls (well, no more than usual). 

“It’s clean?”  
  
“Uh, no, didn’t you hear? Greasy walls?”

“AH! Sam!” Danny jumped out of his seat, both realizing and forgetting she was there. She and Tucker were right where he left them. Danny settled down, knowing the culprit. It still surprised him to know the power Clockwork held.

“He brought us back!” Danielle also surmised the truth. “Which means…” To her delight, the vanilla-chocolate mix was unharmed. “My shake!”

“Yes, it’s your shake,” Sam repeated. “I know you said you’d take your time, but you just spaced out for about ten seconds. And you didn’t go anywhere!” She half-fretted, half-joked, “Are you sure you didn’t eat too much?" 

“No worries, Sam.” Danielle took up her spoon, her wait finally over. “I’m just fine.”

As the child took a trip to sweet paradise, Tucker suggested, “Who’s up for a movie?... at Sam’s place, I mean.” He saw her glower. “What? You do have the best TV.”

“Fine,” she settled, mostly. “But I pick. I’m thinking something old school.”

Tucker pouted. “Aww, but I was thinking high tech!”  
  
“My screen, my rules.”

“Take it easy, you two,” Danny jumped in. “Let’s just have a good time,” he gestured with a chuckle, “like Danielle.”

“Ahhh.” She leaned back, patting her stuffed belly. “Best… shake… ever.”

Their eyes and smiles connected.

“You earned it." 

* * *

 

Back in his lair, Clockwork continued his vigil. He would never admit it out loud, but the old ghost enjoyed himself a bit whenever a Phantom came around, no matter their native timeline. That older Danielle with power over flame was quite a novelty…

Right now, however, he focused on the one met just moments ago. “You made a fine choice today, Danielle Phantom.”

On a muted viewing screen, Team Phantom walked out the doors of the restaurant. Danielle hung back, hesitant at first. Danny noticed, and appeared to ask why. She looked down and away, mumbling something into the ground. With a tiny smile, he ruffled her hair, opened a hand to clasp over hers, and they stepped into the summer sun.

“Your bond with Daniel will make you both stronger for the days to come.”

Still more windows displayed:

Ember McLain, a fury unbound, a fire-covered fist aimed at a saddened Danny.

Another ghost, laughing evilly with a frightening glint in his blood-red eyes.

Something big, heading to Earth.

But there was yet another window.

“And the choices you both make…”

Clockwork observed Box Lunch opening the front door to her lair, her parents telling her they had a big surprise. Her eyes sparkled brighter than ever, and she squealed with joy at the smiling figure before her…

… a woman with snow-white hair and glowing green eyes.

“…will help create a brighter future.” 

**END**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this chapter intending to give Dani her own villain, but realized it would better to focus on Danny and Dani as heroes who touch people's lives, whether they're human or ghost. I see Clockwork, meanwhile, as a character who knows of their potential to affect the DP-verse and its inhabitants (after all he "knows everything"), and has a unique interest in watching and maybe tailoring Danny's timeline in particular. I figure that this interest might lead him to watch over Danny's "cousin" as well.


	7. Part VII

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ember encounters someone with a score to settle.

Author’s Note: _Thought or Emphasis_ ; **Flashback** ; **_Thought or Emphasis in Flashback._ ** Certain type may also be used signify **SOUND** or other dramatic ** _effects_** as necessary.

I don’t own _Danny Phantom_.

**Danny Phantom: Not All Bad**

Part VII 

_It’s a beautiful night._

Ember McLain took in the sights as she flew over Amity Park. Her blue flame hair, resembled a candle’s wispy light carried by the cool summer breeze.

For now, nothing stoked the fire. This was a night to relax, her flight nothing more than a leisurely stroll through another plane of existence.

Sometimes, though, she wondered what kept her coming back to this town. Even on her first big world domination tour, she could feel a tug at her mind, or her core; something about this town told her that big things would happen.

_Didn’t think it’d be me losing._

She sighed, her relaxed mood now as dead as she was. Things just weren’t the same since that ghost boy came into her life and started blowing her evil plans to bits.

She had passed his home earlier, the brownstone with that giant metal monstrosity on the roof. The building housed not only a portal to the Ghost Zone and living world, but her greatest enemy as well.

_…is he?_

Their encounters lately weren’t quite the same battles anymore. Instead, running into him became a source of some variety to her undying existence.

_Fighting him’s actually kinda fun!_

A small part of her wondered if there was something beyond the good music stores or that weird tugging feeling from before.

Maybe it was someone…

“Hold on there, McLain.” She paused in midair, talking aloud to be sure. “He’s just a good fight. That’s all.”

She refused to be burned again.

**_A teenage boy, older than her, his face blurred, but she recognized his confident smile…_ **

She snapped out of it.

 _Great, now I’m stressed all over again._ She thought of someone else, one close to the halfa sneaking into her thoughts. _I wonder if Manson’s got a music player I could borrow… or keep. She’s loaded, so it’s not like she’ll miss it, right?_

Yes, she didn’t need to get too close. She would mess with the lovebirds, maybe giving a hello to their kid once in a while; that would be enough.

_I just can’t let them catch me off guard._

An ecto-rocket caught her off guard.

The **BOOM** filled her ears, the force sending her spinning through the air. She righted herself, though her vision and hearing had yet to catch up.

The ringing in her ear stopped in time to hear herself complain. “Can’t a girl just go for a fly in peace?”

Ember’s returning sight settled on a female figure wearing a high-tech armored bodysuit of red and black, standing atop a jet-propelled hoverboard of matching colors. The clear glass of the helmet's face shield revealed an African-American teenage girl, her teeth gritted in rage.

The songstress raised an eyebrow. “What in both worlds are you?”

“I’m your worst nightmare, ghost.” The Red Huntress fired another rocket from her hoverboard.

Unafraid, Ember whipped her guitar from her back and batted the shot into the night sky, brightened by the burst of green light. “Oh, you do _not_ want to test me, space case.”

“I don’t need to test you. I already know enough!” Her hands clenched. “You might have messed with my head once, but I still remember your face.”

She pointed in fury:

“You and your friends made my father disappear!”

Valerie Gray and her father Damon had a rare day off from their busy schedules and wanted to spend it relaxing in Amity Park, but they barely got within the city limits before a wave of blue energy crossed the sky. Valerie’s last memory before Ember’s music overshadowed her mind was reaching out for the man who vanished before her eyes.

“Revenge? Seriously?” Ember rolled her eyes, remembering the scheme involving Kitty’s kiss. “Not that I care, but you got him back, right?”

“That doesn’t matter. You ghosts have been messing with my life for the past two years, and _you_ tried to take away the one thing I had left!” Her fist met her palm. “I’m going to make you pay. You, and every evil spook just like you!”

“Alright, surfer girl.” Ember grinned at the challenge; it was just what she needed to get her mind off a certain someone. “Let’s go.”

Two machine cubes arose from the Red Huntress’s shoulder, twin ecto-rays fired. Ember dodged, blasted the cube cannons to slag, then strummed out a musical green fist. The Huntress veered below it, and prepared another rocket, but another musical fist struck early, the impact knocking her off her board.

“Wow, one hit?” She jeered. “You suck at this.”

Valerie had fallen before in battles with other ghosts, however, and to Ember’s surprise, the board flew back to its owner with a single thought. She rolled into a tuck before landing back on with both feet, charging back at her opponent, the same wrath in her eyes. “I’m not done yet!”

“Alright, that was a little cool,” the villainess admitted. “Now let’s get fired up!” Turning the knob, she unleashed from her guitar a red flame. The fire engulfed the Huntress, who dove in head first, but not before crossing her arms…

…and charging straight through, covered by a blue ghost shield. Valerie jumped out of the fire, her right fist reared back.

“Nice try.” Ember let her guitar vanish and effortlessly caught the punch, returning her own into her opponent’s stomach. A second, then third punch followed; Ember heard coughs launch blood and spittle onto glass. 

“Aww, too bad. You almost surprised me.” The Huntress seemed to try pulling away, but Ember maintained her grip. “But almost isn’t good enough.”  
  
Valerie stopped her struggle… and smiled. “Almost?”

The uncaught hand clenched and a wrist cannon emerged, blasting Ember into a wall. Her guitar took much of the hit, but her back still felt the pain.

 _It’s like fighting my ex and that loser Technus at the same time._ She shook the brick dust out of her hair. _What else is in her bag of tricks?_

She quickly found out when the Huntress’s hoverboard slammed into her gut. With the press of a pedal, the board’s ghost stinger activated, an electrical current racing through its tips and into Ember’s form. Valerie released the dazed ghost from the wall, then followed up with a powerful punch from a glowing gauntlet.

The falling femme fatale hit the sidewalk with a thud that cracked the concrete. She lay face down, the flame from her hair dimmed, her body bruised.

“Finally gave up, ghost?” The Red Huntress descended to ground level. “Oh, wait, you can’t answer me, can you?” 

To her surprise, the seemingly unconscious ghost spoke.

“My name’s not ‘ghost,’ surfer girl.”

The flame burst bright, forcing her opponent back. Ember leaped to her feet, her hand filled with blue fire.

“It’s EMBER!”  
  
The blazing torrent came at Valerie’s face, but she managed to dive off her board and out of the way. She pulled out what appeared to be a red and black baton and fired.

“What did you say again? Oh, right…”

One end glowed pink, latching an energy shackle onto Ember’s wrists and snapping them together. With another pink shot, Ember’s tied legs gave out from under her. Strength suddenly left her, her body meeting the sidewalk once again. An aura of pink energy covered her from head to foot.

“…Nice try.”

Ember tried to burn off the restraints, but no flame emerged. “What?”

“The cuffs are pretty handy, don’t you think?” Valerie hands proudly met her hips. “And I figured out a new feature: they drop a ghost’s power like a stone.”

She stood smugly over her prey, whose temper was nearly as hot as her hair. “When I get out of this, I am going to scorch that sick smirk clean off your face!”

“Whatever you say, ghost.”  
  
“It’s Ember! Ember McLain!”  
  
“McLame, MacGregor, whatever.” She began to pace. “Now, what I should do with you?”

Option 1: “Melt you down for some extra material? Nah, too big for that.”

Option 2: “I could sell you to Masters? That fool’s got no idea he’s funding me so I can take him down someday…” She looked her enemy over and decided, “Nah, I’m not giving him someone like you to break.”

“Hey, I know!” Ember adopted a chipper tone, “You could waste me right now, so I don’t have to listen to you talk all night.”

The Huntress simply clenched her fist and summoned a mini ghost stinger, hearing Ember’s complaints turn to screams. “AAAGHHH! What else is in that stupid suit!?”

“I got it.” She snapped her fingers, then pointed at her captive. “You keep showing up here in Amity Park, so you must have a way to get here from the Ghost Zone. I bet you know all kinds of other stuff about that place too.” She lowered her face to Ember’s. “You’re gonna tell me everything.”  
  
“What makes you think I’ll talk?”

“Oh, I’ve got my ways. Maybe I didn’t break Phantom, but I bet my little toys could work just fine on you.”

 _How does Phantom know this crazy chick?_ Ember kept her real question internal, and opted for, “You sure you’ve never met Skulker? You two sound a lot alike.”

Valerie knew the name, having faced his death gauntlet and survived (with a little help). “I’ll remember to ask about him too, before I’m done with you.”

She raised her wrist cannon.

“Now say good night, ghost!”

 _I wanted a challenge, not this!_ If Ember wasn’t in her current position, she would have beaten up herself. _I can’t believe I’m going to be some gun-happy fruit loop's plaything!_

She was powerless, alone… defeated.

_I wonder if this is how the kid felt a few weeks back?_

It was too bad for her Danielle was probably fast asleep right now, living with her happy family, cared for by a certain half-ghost hero. She was safe; Ember was not.

The prideful Ember McLain didn’t want to admit it.

But all the same, she closed her eyes and made an impossible wish.

_Maybe I could use a hero too._

“VALERIE, NO!”

Both girls recognized the voice, the half-ghost hero landing between them:  
  
“Phantom?”

Danny happened to have sensed a ghost passing by his home earlier that night, and he took a little time to patrol the town just in case.

He didn’t expect, however, to find this.

“What the heck is going on here?” He looked back at the trapped ghost, whose green orbs avoided his, then to the Red Huntress. “What are you _doing_ to her!?”  
  
“My job.” She moved the gun to him. “Now step out of the way.”  
  
Danny outstretched his arms, his intention clear:

“I’m not letting you touch her!”

Ember held back her gasp.

“And why not?” Her captor demanded.

“She hasn’t done anything wrong!” He stopped the Huntress before she opened her mouth, “And if she did, believe me, I’d know about it.”

“Nothing wrong!?” She balked. “Do you _know_ the things she’s done?”

“I’m quite aware. In fact, she’s hurt me personally.” It was hard to forget 24 hours of obsessing over your best friend... or watching that same best friend kiss Dash Baxter. “But she’s already taken her lumps for that,” he tried not to be smug, “and I’ve taken her down pretty much every time since.”

“Ain’t it hard to fly with that swelled head?” Ember interjected.

“You’re one to talk.” He retorted, before going back to Valerie. “Stand down.” He stood firm. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Get me free, and I could hurt her instead...”  
  
“Not helping, Ember!”

“Give me one reason why I shouldn’t blast that menace right now,” she readied her _other_ wrist cannon, “and you too for helping her!”  
  
He stared at the weapon unfazed. “Because of Dani.”

“Dani?” For the Red Huntress, the little ghost girl she’d helped save months ago showed her that not _all_ ghosts were bad. Even Phantom showed he had a heart in his seemingly dead body, willing to surrender his freedom to her, just to ensure Dani’s safety.

Valerie knew she would do the same for her own family.

“She and Ember are friends,” Danny explained. “So, if you hurt her-”

“-then I hurt Dani, is that it?”

“Exactly.”

She looked over her former prey. “You leave that little girl around some pretty bad influences.”

The ‘bad influence’ glared back.

“Where is Dani, anyway?” Valerie relaxed a bit. “I’ve been seeing the news about her, but I never catch her on my patrols.” She recalled with a gentle smile, “Last time I saw her, she was flying off all dramatically.”

He absentmindedly told her the truth. “She’s with Sam.”

Her brows rose. “Sam?”  
  
“Did I say Sam?” He hurried to find a name. “I meant Saaaa… saaahhhmm… _some_ friend!” He gave a small smile of victory, not seeing Ember’s cuffed double facepalm. “Dani’s with a friend of mine. She’s safe.”

“Right…” _Now that I think about it, Sam Manson’s around a lot when Phantom is too._ She filed the thought away for later.

“Please, just let this go. Whatever Ember's done in the past, let it stay in the past.” Seeing her waver, he pushed further. “I won’t even tell Dani. She wouldn’t want to see you like this.” He looked down to Ember. “ _Either_ of you.”

She sneered. “Why are you looking at me like I’m the bad guy here?”

“Well,” he half-joked, “you kinda are one…”

“I started it, Phantom, not her,” Valerie admitted. “Just seeing her face set me off. She and those two other ghost girls messed with my father and-”

“I know what happened.” Sam had told him the story. “I understand your father’s important to you. But you’re better than this, and you’re more than just your anger.”

A memory of a happier Valerie, at peace in his arms, passed through his mind.

“I know it.”

Something about Danny’s words dug deep into the Huntress’s heart. She too remembered better days, and a boy she used to love. Though he didn’t know about her secret life, he briefly helped her rediscover that other side of herself, the girl beneath the helmet. He gave her a chance at freedom, before she lost that chance to the hunt.

Maybe, like with Danny Phantom and his little cousin, she could give this ‘Ember’ a chance too.

Her weapons receded, and she said two words she never thought she’d say to a ghost.

“I’m sorry.”

Ember’s bonds vanished. “Finally!” Back on her feet, she charged a ghost ray. “You’ll be sorry, alright, once I jam that surfboard down your-”

“Let it go, Ember.” Danny’s hand, freezing over her own, halted her attack. “It’s over.”

“I’ll leave you alone,” Valerie agreed, “but if you backslide just once, I’ll be ready.” She sported a bold grin. “And your little boyfriend won’t be there to save you from me!”

Ember lunged at (and Danny held her back from) the girl in red, now flying off into the night. “HE’S NOT MY BOYFRIEND!” She heard a giggle at her side. “And just what are you laughing at, Danny _Manson_?”

“Nothing.”

“That’s what I thought.”

The two ascended to the nearest roof. Ember was silent along the way, as if she was still trying to grasp something. Sensing this, Danny took his chance. “So, exactly what happened-”

“I’m almost glad you’re a hero, because you are the worst liar,” she jibed, cutting him off. “How do you even fake the human thing?”

“A lot of luck, if I’m honest.” He lost his old thought, then caught her words. “Hey, I’m not faking anything! I’m still human,” he corrected, “well, half, anyway.”

“You’re definitely different from full ghosts, at least,” she frowned, “because I don’t know anyone as hardheaded as you!”

She punched his arm.

“Ow!”

“Don’t waste your time jumping in like that, Dipstick!” She was almost insulted. “I’m the hottest, and _toughest_ , singer in the Ghost Zone! I can handle myself!”

“And you call me a bad liar.” He folded his arms. “From where I was standing, you were one step away from being made her new punching bag.” He looked her over, “Are you okay, though?”

“I’m fine!” She backed away, avoiding his concerned stare. “Ugh, saved by the guy I’ve tried to kill,” she proclaimed more to herself than him. “It’s downright embarrassing!”

He continued standing there, with that _dopey Dipstick look on his face_ -

“And you don’t even care!”  
  
“Nope.”  
  
“You’re _supposed_ to care!” She implored. “I’m your enemy, your rival! You’re supposed to care about the fight! Not…” She sighed, casting her gaze on the skyline.

“Not you?” He shook his head. “Come on, Ember. You’ve saved the life of my-”  
  
“Daughter?”  
  
“ _Cousin_ ,” he told them both, “a couple times over by now, helped her figure out her power. Despite our history, you were there for her.”

“So, what, you jumped in because you owed me?”

“I helped you because you needed me.”

He floated over, a hand placed on her shoulder.  
  
“Shouldn’t someone be there for you too?”

Ember looked into his eyes, an unmistakable kindness in his green orbs, bright and pure. She could swear she saw her own reflection in them, eyes and mouth wide.

_He did this… for me?_

“You’re way too good, Danny Phantom.”

He beamed.

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”  
  
He pulled back his hand when he felt her heat spike. She floated backward, turning her back to him once more. She folded her arms over herself, her warmth ebbing and flowing with her breath.

“Ember?” He almost reached out his hand again, “Did I… say something wro-”

“Don’t expect me to thank you.” She spat, still not looking back.

“I won’t. I know you’ve got your reputation and all.” _Same old Ember,_ his worry receded. _I guess she’s okay after all._ “Although,” he smirked, “a little gratitude won’t _kill_ you, considering…”

“That was almost clever, Babypop. Almost.” He could almost swear a smile crossed her face as she faced him, but a more curious frown quickly took its place. “So, how do you know this Valerie, anyway?”  
  
“You’re not gonna believe this, but…” he chuckled awkwardly, “…she’s my ex-girlfriend.”

She scoffed. “Now that’s a real joke!”

He turned as if the toothpaste billboard caught his interest, but she still saw his red cheeks.

“…You’re serious?”

He said nothing.

Ember laughed, hard and loud.

“HAHAHAHAHA—you… you dated… HAHAHAHAHA!”

“She’s not that bad, okay? She’s got some _issues_ with ghosts,” he grimaced, “but once you get past the guns and anger-”

“She pulls out the last gun from under her skirt?”

“Hey, that was one time!”

She only laughed harder. “Oh, man, my sides!”

“It’s not funny!” He paused, “Okay, maybe the skirt thing is.”

“Wow…” She finally quieted, realizing, “I guess we both know how to pick ’em.”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

They found themselves staring up at the waxing moon. Ember liked to see the stars as she flew; it was a welcome change from the doors and islands that dotted the air of her home.

“It’s a beautiful night.”

“That’s what I thought too. You know,” she smirked, “before your ex came along.”

“You’re going to keep rubbing Valerie in my face from now on, aren’t you?”  
  
“Until the end of time.”

They shared a chuckle.

“Are you sure you’re gonna be alright?”

“I’m good. Now get out of here, hero!” She shoved him. “Don’t you have some cat to get out of a tree?”

“That appointment’s tomorrow,” he quipped, “though knowing my luck, it’ll be a giant ghost panther.” He held back a yawn. “Now, if you excuse me, there’s a pillow with my name on it. I’ll see you later, Ember.”

She gave a gentle wave. “You too, Danny.”

“Oh,” he faked surprise, “you’re calling me Danny now?

 _I did?_ She rolled with it. “I guess you earned it.” She winked. “Just this once.”

“I’ll accept that gift.” With a chortle and a salute, Danny Phantom took off.

Ember McLain watched the black-and-white streak head for home.

“Good night, hero.”

It came to her. She was a villainess, but Danny was…

“… _my_ hero.”

She shuddered.

“That’s just weird.”

**END**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now we return to Ember, in a role reversed from Part IV. As much as she fights it, Danielle isn’t the only Phantom with whom she’s starting to bond. What will it mean for her and Team Phantom? Heck if I know, I’m making this up as I go along!


End file.
